Jesse Tyler Ferguson, left, and Eric Stonestreet play Mitchell and Cameron, a gay couple on "Modern Family." Photo courtesy of ABC.

Television programs are increasingly featuring gay and lesbian characters.

For instance, the award-winning comedy “Glee” (Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern on Fox) has a gay storyline and in tonight’s episode of “Modern Family” (Wednesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern on ABC) father Jay (actor Ed O’Neill) must confront the possibility one of his best friends Shorty (Chazz Palminteri) is homosexual.

Social workers have long supported the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. To learn more, visit this National Association of Social Workers Web site section on this issue. Which leads to our poll:

Johnson worked as a social worker for 30 years and was one of the first social workers to push for programs for people afflicted with AIDS. She is also a key Democratic Party supporter and long time activist for women, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights.

GLT asked Johnson, who lives in San Diego, why she chose social work:

“Well back in those days, there were very few things that a woman could do. I wanted a college education, and I wanted a graduate degree but the choices were very limited. I didn’t want to be a nurse because I didn’t like blood. And I didn’t want to be a teacher because I didn’t have much patience with children, and I was too noisy to be a librarian. So I chose to be a social worker.”

Visit this National Association of Social Workers Web site section to find out how social workers help gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.

Catherine White-Holman. Photo courtesy of Vancouver Sun.

Our regards  to the Vancouver Sun in Canada for their moving profile of Catherine White-Holman, a pioneering social worker who helped provide health care to the community and was an advocate for gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people. White-Holman, 55, recently died in a plane crash.

To read the full story click here.

Transgender woman Adrianna King moved to Chicago's Lakeview section for acceptance. She aspires to be a social worker or work in entertainment.

 Transgender youth are moving to Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood because they feel safer in its gay-friendly environment, according to a recent Chicago Now news article. They are also going there to take advantage of social services offered at places such as the Center on Halsted and the Night Ministry.

This article highlights care social workers provide some of the most marginalized people in our society.

CSWE Executive Director Julia Watkins

The Council on Social Work Education and Lambda Legal on Nov. 3 released results of a study on sexual orientation and gender expression in social work programs. The study sought to find how prepared students to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth in out-of-home care. “The results of this study make it clear that we as a profession have integrated sexual orientation-related content into curricular offerings, but we can do more,”  CSWE Executive Director Julia M. Watkins said.