Actor Mark Ruffalo says goodbye to ‘old’ and ‘bigoted’ views of parenting

“We live down the street from a gay couple with a young son, my son goes and plays there and has lunch there. My son is 8 years old, and not once has he come and asked why his friend has two poppas,” says Mark Ruffalo. “His family is no different to my family – they eat at the same time, send their kid to school, discipline him and love him the same way. It’s only the teaching that we give to the child that makes them see those distinctions.” Ruffalo is starring in The Kids Are All Right in theaters now.

The film – which stars Julianne Moore and Annette Bening playing lesbian moms – was a hit at Sundance 2010. Mark Ruffalo stars – as the biological father.

“The more people get to experience ‘these people’ (gay and lesbian couples) who are not so much unlike themselves, the more accepting they become,” he said. “You can’t know somebody like that then want to take away something (like marriage) that is so precious to them.”