Because you seem to be such a dignified person...

Well, I am! I hope I'm not just seemingly so. (laughs)

Well, I don't know you, I've only been talking to you for 12 minutes.

And you listen to Howard, I trust?

Yeah, but from everything I've gathered of you, you have that dignified air about you...

Well, that's the contrast on the Howard show. We had so many raucous people and I can be as raucous as the rest of them, but I try to maintain my own persona and that serves as a good balance to the whole show.

It seemed part of the amusement for them was 'how far can we push George.'

(laughs) Well, I'm easily led astray. He had me engage the governor himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a telephonic conversation. And I got him to agree to support the same-sex marriage bill the next time it was presented in front of him. And then it turned out he was an Arnold imitator and I got bamboozled by him, but when I hung up with that guy... and he was an amazing imitator. He sounded just like Arnold... I said to Howard, you are a powerful media personality. You could get Arnold to call in, so I challenge you to get the real Arnold to call in and I will engage him in the same kind of conversation. And, a couple days later, Arnold did call in, and I did engage him in conversation, and he did finally agree that I made good sense and that he would seriously consider signing that bill if it should be presented to him again. Well, it turned out he was the same imitator. Hoodwinked again... so, I try to maintain my dignity, but sometimes it is tested to the full extent. (laughs)

(laughs) Oh my...

Oh my...

Oh, that's right. I'm stealing your lines.

You are indeed. My signature. Or, at least Howard has made it my signature. Oh my...

So, was coming out publicly... was that something that you had been reticent about prior to that, or it just seemed irrelevant to you, or...

Not irrelevant. It's certainly a relevant part of our lives, my partner and me. But I think, like many people, that they keep their marriage private. I felt that's the way I wanted to keep our relationship. But when I decided to speak out on the issue of the same-sex marriage bill, I needed my voice to be credible. And for it to be credible, I had to fully disclose. So, I spoke to the press on that for the first time then.

What has the reaction been from the gay community?

It's been very strong, very positive and supportive. I was asked to be a guest on Will & Grace. The producers of that are gay. And I played a character named George Takei, but it wasn't quite me. The reaction from certainly the gay community has been very positive and I was approached by the Human Rights Campaign to be their spokesman, and they asked if I would tour the country on their behalf. And, I said, 'Well, I have a very open month in April, so I'd be happy to do whatever you'd like me to do,' and they had me travel from one college campus to another, from the east coast to the west coast, to speak on GLBT issues, which was certainly an honor and a unique privilege.

But it was an opportunity for me to engage in conversations with young people and I think that's where the hope for all of us lies, in terms of equality for the GLBT community. With young people today, it doesn't seem to be a big issue. I mean, 'Yeah, Bobby's gay, but he's a great baseball player,' and 'Yeah, Susie may be a lesbian, but she's a nice gal. She's sharp as a whip.' So, it's no big thing now. And the young people are going to eventually become voters, and that's something else I emphasize.

As good citizens, it is absolutely our responsibility to become engaged with the issues of our time, and the great civil rights issue of our generation, the young people's generation, is equality for gays and lesbians and bisexuals and transgender. And these young people, when they become voters, are going to be a factor in determining the course of this country and certainly the policy. And a few more years after that, they're going to be leaders, the movers and shakers. And I am very optimistic about the situation in the United States changing because of the changes I see happening amongst young people today.

Yeah, I mean I'm 38 running a gay youth site, and even...

I still consider you young. Everybody is young from my vantage point. (laughs).

(laughs) But just compared to my experience growing up, I'm already amazed, because I came out when I was 23 and now on the website I've had 12-year-old kids. There are 14-year-olds that are out at school. And me coming out at 23 would probably seem like 'they're coming out earlier and earlier' to you.

Indeed!