Democrat cites “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” as a reason to oppose LGBTQ measure

The DVD of “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.” Photo: Universal Pictures

A Democratic alderman in Chicago said that he is concerned about a measure intended to fight discrimination against LGBTQ people because he’s worried about fraud… after watching the 2007 Adam Sandler movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

Chicago’s city council just approved a study that would look into possibly creating set-asides for LGBTQ-owned businesses. The city’s lesbian mayor Lori Lightfoot has been pushing for the LGBTQ set-asides – which would be in addition to the 26% of city contracts set aside for minority-owned businesses and the 6% earmarked for women-owned businesses – and the study, which would look into possible discrimination against LGBTQ business-owners, could be a prelude to set-asides.

But the idea has run up against opposition from some Democrats on the city council, including Alderman Walter Burnett, who cited the Adam Sandler movie as a reason to believe that LGBTQ set-asides would be ripe for fraud.

“I think about that movie about the two firemen where they were faking like they were gay… to get benefits. That’s a concern of mine. How do you distinguish that?” Burnett said.

In I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Adam Sandler and Kevin James are straight firefighters who get married in order to help James name his children as beneficiaries on his life insurance policy, which is not a thing. The government investigates their sham marriage, so they start pretending to be gay (by buying Q-Tips and a Liza Minelli album) and are outed to other firefighters.

The movie – which Vice described as “wall-to-wall gay panic humor” – ends with James and Sandler in court, accused of being straight because Sandler has female exes (because bisexual men don’t exist). The two main characters learn that it’s bad to use the word “f****t,” they grand marshal a Pride parade, and in the end, they can keep the benefits even though everyone finds out that their marriage was fraudulent.

Needless to say, the movie was made by and for straight people and is not an accurate depiction of LGBTQ life….

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