NCIS Star Pauley Perrette Uses Engagement to Wade Into Gay Marriage Debate

By Brittney R. Villalva , Christian Post Reporter

December 13, 2011|2:11 pm

Pauley Perrette, best-known for her role as Abby on NCIS, has recently announced her engagement to British Marine boyfriend Thomas Arklie. However, the couple has used the engagement to wade into the gay marriage debate; announcing that they will not get married until California’s Proposition 8, which prevents same-sex marriage from legal recognition, is overturned.

Perrette’s character, Abby Sciuto, is a forensic specialist that has an extreme interest in death and the supernatural. Her wardrobe is composed mostly of black clothing in a gothic style, black boots and gothic jewelry. But in spite of the dark get up Abby is described as “perky.”

In an interview with CBS, Perrette recounted her struggle to get by in New York, where she worked in clubs, fast food, and coat checks. Originally born in New Orleans, the actress dabbled in drugs before starting in commercials and eventually making her way into television shows like Murder One and Frasier.

Perrette described her experience with drugs saying: “There’s no drug that I ever did that worked as well as being an actor. What you’re looking for with substance abuse is escape. But with acting, you can escape into 1,000 different things without almost killing yourself doing it.”

The actress is also an advocate for same-sex marriage. In 2008 she wrote a public letter that gave her support to Proposition 8.

Despite her support for gay marriage, which would redefine the thousands year definition of marriage as recorded in the Bible; Perrette has also voiced her belief in God and is a member of the Hollywood Methodist Church.

In her essay about Proposition 8, Perrette writes, “Personally, I am a church-going Christian. I love my church, my congregation; it’s my favorite place to be.”

However, ignoring claims from traditional theologians that homosexuality is a sin and that Christians are called to love the sinner but not the sin, Perrette says she supports gay rights by suggesting that it is a component of love, “Love is a big word. I believe in Love. I believe that God is Love.”