Alabama Station Refuses To Air Show About Gay Rat

The Birmingham Herald reports:

Alabama Public Television chose not to air PBS’s Arthur episode that included a same-sex marriage. APT preempted the episode by showing a re-run of Arthur.

Mike Mckenzie, director of programming at APT, said APT was notified by WGBH and PBS in mid-April about the episode entitled “Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone” and decided to show a re-run. Mckenzie said APT has no plans to air the episode at a later date.

“Although we strongly encourage parents to watch television with their children and talk about what they have learned afterwards – parents trust that their children can watch APT without their supervision. We also know that children who are younger than the ‘target’ audience for Arthur also watch the program.”

In 2005, Alabama’s PBS affiliate also refused to episode featuring a girl with two mothers.