Although it is debatable whether television drama follows cultural trends or sets them, the Law and Order franchise, with its numerous ripped-from-the-headlines storylines, seems to be more reflective of developments in American culture than an influence on it. Given the show’s unique long-running status, taking a look back at its episodes featuring gay men reveals how attitudes about homosexuality have changed over the past 15 years (for issues of scope, this article does not include episodes in the three L&O spinoffs, just the original series).

From AIDS to Gay Marriage
When Law and Order premiered on NBC in September 1990, America was still embroiled in the AIDS crisis, so it’s not surprising that one of the first episodes to deal with gay issues focused on AIDS. In the series’ third episode, “The Reaper’s Helper,” attorneys prosecuted Jack Curry, a man who admitted to mercy-killing men dying of AIDS in San Francisco and Los Angeles. When it turns out that Curry himself also has AIDS, Assistant DA Ben Stone (Michael Moriarity) provides key evidence for the defense that results in Curry’s acquittal. Although “The Reaper’s Helper” can’t be said to have presented a happy, healthy image of gay men, it was sympathetic to AIDS victims and was not sensationalistic in its tone.

By 2004, the AIDS crisis had faded from the nation’s consciousness, and although it is still closely linked with the gay community, other issues had come to the forefront. The November 2004 episode “Gov Love” was a ripped-from-the-headlines episode based on former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey’s resignation and outing, but the legal argument hinged on the hot-button topic of gay marriage.

In this episode, a fictional Connecticut governor has an affair with a male state employee named Richard Kaplan; the secret relationship is disclosed when the governor’s wife is murdered. Kaplan confesses to his lover (not the governor) that he killed the governor’s wife to prevent her from outing the governor and their affair. But A.D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston) is stymied in his attempt to get Kaplan’s lover to testify about the confession when Kaplan argues that he and his lover were married and therefore should benefit from spousal privilege. This leads McCoy to the state supreme court to debate the question of gay marriage.

While “Gov Love” does fall back on old-school fear-of-being-outed storyline as motive for murder, its usage of spousal privilege puts a novel spin on the defense, and highlights one of the many issues that can arise when gay marriage is not recognized.

What Makes a Hate Crime
One of the most interesting developments over the course of the series has been the changing definition of a hate crime. In a Season 3 episode, “Manhood,” which originally aired on May 12, 1993, a gay cop is wounded in a shootout and dies because his backup does not arrive in time. The investigation reveals that the other police officers were purposely slow because they knew the man was gay and wanted to scare him.

During the trial, a court psychiatrist testifies that the straight cops’ homophobia is both pathological and uncontrollable, leading to an acquittal. This verdict echoes both the twinkie defense that successfully acquitted Harvey Milk’s murderer, and the gay panic defense that most recently led to a deadlocked jury in the Gwen Araujo trial earlier this year. A.D.A. Ben Stone concludes sadly, “four cops let him die and twelve citizens did it again.” “Manhood,” which despite the straight cops’ acquittal puts a decidedly negative spin on homophobia, won a GLAAD award in 1993.

In comparison, a Season 11 episode, “Phobia,” which aired on February 14, 2001, a gay man is beaten to death and his adopted baby is kidnapped. The police discover that the kidnappers were the baby’s birth mother, an ex-junkie named Celia, and the birth father, Robert. When Celia told Robert that the baby was adopted by gay dads, Robert was upset and decided to take the child back. During the kidnapping he assaulted the gay father while shouting “Faggot!” and ended up killing him. The fact that Robert was hurling homophobic epithets at his victim enabled the prosecutors to classify the murder as a hate crime, and in this case the killer was successfully convicted.