Thousands Sign 'Star Wars' Fan Petition for LGBTQ Character

A Star Wars fan has launched a petition for the franchise to create a LGBTQ character in honor of his best friend, who was killed during the Orlando nightclub shooting. 

Joshua Yehl created the petition as a tribute to Drew Leinonen, along with his boyfriend Juan Ramon Guerrero, who were two of the 49 victims. On Change.org, he addressed Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Disney CEO Bob Iger:

While Star Wars is a sci-fi fantasy world with bizarre aliens and hulking monsters, it still features characters just like us. After A New Hope, steps were taken to expand and diversify the cast, giving us the smooth-talking Lando Calrissian and Rebel pilots played by people of color. The tradition of making Star Wars more inclusive continued with the casting of Daisy Ridley as Rey and John Boyega as Finn, the main protagonists of The Force Awakens. It’s my hope that Star Wars will take another step forward by introducing their first-ever LGBT character in a movie.