DC Comics, which saw its “New 52” line premiere in 2011 as a relaunch of its series of superhero comic books fail to live up to expectations, is trying to increase its sales by making Green Lantern, one of the longest-running of its characters, gay.

It’s not the first time DC has crossed the sexuality line with one of its major characters; in 2009 the comic book giant capitulated to PC and made Batwoman gay.

Batwoman was described as a “lesbian socialite by night and a crime-fighter by later in the night.” But sales for DC haven’t been as brisk as they would have hoped. The “New 52” series dropped 17.4% last December and 19.6% the month before that.

So now Green Lantern, whose identity has been a little confused over the years, has been given a new thrust by DC. Historically, Green Lantern has had several incarnations: Alan Scott, an engineer, the original Green Lantern (although later issues showed he had been predated by Yalan Gur, a Chinese man whose attempt to rule over mankind was foiled by the Guardians of the Galaxy) Hal Jordan, a test pilot, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, an architect, and Hal Rayner, a struggling free-lance artist.

The conservative group One Million Moms issued the following statement:

Children mimic superhero actions and even dress up in costumes to resemble these characters as much as possible. Can you imagine little boys saying, “I want a boyfriend or husband like X-Men?” This is ridiculous! Why do adult gay men need comic superheroes as role models? They don’t but do want to indoctrinate impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light. These companies are heavily influencing our youth by using children’s superheroes to desensitize and brainwash them in thinking that a gay lifestyle choice is normal and desirable.

Writer James Robinson is excited about his new take on Green Lantern:

Alan Scott is super-heroic, he’s super gallant, he’ll die for the earth, he’ll die for its people, he’s everything you want in a hero. I imagine he’s such a Type A character that when he realized he was gay, he was like, ‘Okay, I’m gay, now I’m just gonna go on with my life.’ He’s so accepting of it himself and he’s such a compelling person that the world knows Alan Scott’s gay. He’s such a leader, he’s such a good man, that the Justice League don’t care. And that’s a healthy depiction of a team and how it should be.

There was a time when superheroes reflected ideas as prosaic as truth, justice and the American way. Now it’s PC, type A, and the gay left.