Time to add his political voice
A few "Star Trek" fans were shocked by the official revelation that actor George Takei -- aka Mr. Sulu -- is gay. But most accepted the news with the respect for diversity that devotees say is the hallmark of the sci-fi series.
Takei, 68, revealed his homosexuality in the current issue of Frontiers, a biweekly Los Angeles magazine covering the gay and lesbian community. Takei said he and his partner of 18 years, Brad Altman, have been open about their relationship to friends and family for many years.
What prompted his recent disclosure to the media, he said, was Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of a same-sex marriage bill in September.
"The world has really changed," Takei said. "We now have Time magazine doing a cover story on gay teens. Now that the movement is reaching this point, something unimaginable when I was a teenager, I think I have a responsibility to add my voice. I thought that it was time."
Takei likened his experience of coming out publicly to a walk down a long corridor: "At first, it's narrow and dark, then it starts to widen a bit, there are windows that let in some light, then doors that open that give you the prospect of a path to take."
It's an image that also reflects on Takei's early years. When he was a child and young teen, Takei's family was interned during World War II, with his relatives split between two U.S. camps.
For years after the war, he said he carried a public shame about being Japanese American and a private shame that came from knowing he was gay.
"When I was in the internment camp, I pledged allegiance to the flag," he recalled. "The words were 'liberty and justice for all.' I was too young to appreciate the irony of the sight of the barbed wire fence and the guard towers. But the irony of the words for me and for other gay people is penetrating."
Reaction on the Internet included shock and tasteless jokes, as well as praise and good wishes that Takei live long and prosper.
"He must have chosen that magazine called Frontiers as I guess it must have been the final frontier for him to come out," wrote one blogger on starwars .com.
Adam Malin, co-chief executive of Creation Entertainment, which produces the official "Star Trek" convention in Las Vegas every year, predicted that the overall fan reaction would be one of acceptance.
"People in the 'Star Trek' fan universe are extremely accepting
