New Yorker excused from jury duty for being gay

Jonathan D. Lovitz was excused from jury duty after telling the judge he couldn’t be impartial because he’s gay. Lovitz, an actor and model, is part of the cast of a new Logo show called "The Set Up Squad."

“Just had an intense day at jury duty,” Lovitz said. “During voir dire we were asked who would not be impartial. I raised my hand and said, ‘Since I can’t get married or adopt a child in the state of New York, I can’t possibly be an impartial judge of a citizen when I am considered a second-class one in the eyes of this justice system.’ You wouldn’t believe how people in the room reacted.”

Lovitz says he didn’t make the statement to get excused from jury duty but rather to express his feelings about his status in society.

When Lovitz posted his story on Facebook, the story went viral. MSNBC interviewed Lovitz and created a poll based on his story. The Fox News blog Fox Nation posted the story, which has so far received 355 comments – the vast majority of them hate-filled rants.

“Isn’t it ironic that Satan would get the Homosexulas (sic) to label themselves as ‘Gay’, when in reality, how could anyone think of themselves as gay when they are headed to H e l l,” said a typical commenter. “Years ago they were refered (sic) to as Q u e e r s, those that were perverts of society becasue (sic) of their perverted sexual desires.”