Late last year, Emmy-nominated “Modern Family” actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his fiancé Justin Mikita launched Tie the Knot, a charity line of specialty bow ties with proceeds going to the fight for marriage equality.
The couple’s second collection went up for sale Tuesday morning on the Tie Bar Web site, which features bow ties bearing the name of Manhattan locations like The SoHo and The High Line.
Same-sex marriage is currently legal in nine states and in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments regarding the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, both of which define marriage as between a man and a woman.
Ferguson and Mikita hope their efforts will help; the couple has thus far raised $50,000 for their foundation’s first beneficiary: The Human Rights Campaign, an organization that works to advance LGBT equality.
Tyler Ferguson joined the show on Tuesday, and following his talk with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, we continued the discussion on Tie the Knot in the satellite Morning Joe green room on my co-worker’s iPhone.
Why is the fight for marriage equality important to Ferguson?
“Obviously we want to get married, and that can only happen in a handful of states right now,” Ferguson while motioning to Mikita. “It’s just a question of equality for all Americans. It’s not a gay or straight thing; it’s not a Republican or Democratic thing; it’s a bipartisan issue and something we’re very passionate about. We’re a minority right now, and that’s not OK.”
The Respect for Marriage Coalition has been announced as the beneficiary for the sales of the second collection. The Tie Bar web site states that all proceeds from the sales go to Tie the Knot.
And if you don’t know how to tie a bow tie, Ferguson has you covered in this YouTube video.
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Drew Katchen