NEW YORK – The question of whether "Sesame Street" puppets Bert and Ernie might get married - as thousands of online petitioners have urged - was answered with a definite no Thursday when their creators said they were just "best friends" who "do not have a sexual orientation."

More than 5,700 people have signed an online petition at Change.org urging the striped-shirt-wearing puppets, who sleep in the same room and whose sexuality has long been debated, be allowed to wed.

"We are not asking that 'Sesame Street' do anything crude or disrespectful," the petition reads. "It can be done in a tasteful way. Let us teach tolerance of those that are different."

But the non-profit Sesame Workshop said on its Facebook page Thursday there's no wedding cake in the offing.

"Bert and Ernie are best friends," the Workshop statement said. "They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves.

"Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics (as most Sesame Street Muppets™ do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/11/no-wedding-bells-for-bert-and-ernie-on-sesame-street/#ixzz1Umwhhvrs

Here they go trying to push their lifestyle on everyone and little kids. Once again making me reconsider my support for same sex marriage.

Its been long rumored that they were gay and the fact that change.org (which I support some of the time) was pushing for this is an outrage. I'm not surprised by it, but I don't like it.

Agreed, but only on the basis that sexual orientation has no place in a childrens' series. Reconsider support of gay marriage? No. What's wrong with you? People do this all the time, from comic books to soap operas ... ask ABC how many letters they've received over the years for character X to get married to character Y ... be it gay or straight couplings. Where's your outrage with any other show or medium?

A petition is merely a joint letter en mass. Anything else you want to blow out of proportion?

And you NEVER blow things out of proportion.

I haven't read comics in ages so I don't know what is going on and I don't soap operas (I'm a straight male) so I don't know what is going on there either. I'm outraged because they are doing this to kids, don't like it then go cry about it.

I would also say the target age range for comics has changed. They are not really for small kids anymore.

People want to see many things when it comes to their entertainment (or the entertainment/learning of their children). There are also test audiences for movies, TV shows, etc and things are changed according to that feedback. Ultimately, the producers of that medium will usually do whatever they like with that medium, at the behest of their "fan-base" or not.

If it came down to PBS actually marrying the characters, I'd say any blame would be with the producers rather than those people outside of production who thought "duhhhh, dis would be a good idea, George."