Original air date: April 30, 2006
To make the citizens forget that he blew their tax money on a gold statue of the Sugar Smack Dig 'Em Frog, Mayor West drafts a bill that will make all same-sex marriages illegal, which is a problem for Brian (who goes to great lengths to have the bill vetoed so his gay cousin Jasper can marry his Filipino boyfriend), Chris (who only agrees with the anti-gay marriage bill so he can feel up a Blonde Republican Sex Kitten at school), and Lois (who was raised to think that heterosexual marriage is the only acceptable marriage in the world).
Examples:
- As the Good Book Says...: Chris tried to use this to justify his views against gay marriage. Brian is not impressed.Chris: But Brian, the Bible says gay marriage is an abomination against God!Brian: Oh don't give me that young Republican crap, Chris! The Bible also says a senior citizen built an Ark and rounded up two of every animal.
- Black Comedy Animal Cruelty: Noah has no problem with throwing the elephant-penguin offspring overboard the Ark, despite him not giving any specific guidelines about mating.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: Two escalating examples when Stewie looks through a candy jar the Pewterschmidt house. The third item he finds is a Luden's cough drop and the fourth is a fishing lure.
- Brick Joke: While looking through Carter's candy jar, Stewie finds the keys to a Volkswagen Scirocco. Later, Mayor West drops the gay marriage ban after Brian gives him the Volkswagen Scirocco keys courtesy of Stewie.
- Comically Small Demand: Mayor West drops the charges for Brain holding him hostage for the keys to a Volkswagen Scirocco.
- Crazy-Prepared: Adam West. When Brian pulls out a gun, Mayor West tells him, "I should warn you. I have a tiny bulletproof shield the exact size of a bullet, somewhere on my body. And if you hit it, I'll be unharmed and your plan will be foiled. You'll be the laughing stock of me." He gets one again when he pulls out Stratego from his esophagus.
- Grammar Nazi: Mort insists that the name of "Dig 'Em" be corrected to "Dig Them".Mort: You're not welcome in Quahog, Dig Them.
- Hot Skitty-on-Wailord Action: Somehow, a male elephant and a female penguin managed to have a crossbred elepenguin together, much to Noah's chagrin in the cutaway gag.Noah: (pointing to the elephant-penguin hybrid) What the hell is this?!Elephant: You didn't give any specific guidelines about mating.
- Hypocritical Humor: Herbert and Quagmire refuse to sign Brian's gay marriage petition. Quagmire refuses because he believes marriage and sex should be between two heterosexuals (despite his promiscuity ranging from Really Gets Around to Extreme Omnisexual) and Herbert (who is a homosexual pedophile) calls Brian a "pervert" and slams the door in his face.
- Innocent Innuendo: While talking to Alyssa, Chris is worried that he's gonna be burying his dog (referring to the possibility of Brian getting shot for holding Mayor West hostage). Alyssa's response? "Whoa, whoa. I said you could touch my boobs, let's start with that."
- Interspecies Romance: A cutaway involves an elephant and a penguin having a hybrid baby on Noah's Ark. Though in the animals' defense, Noah didn't really give any specific guidelines on mating.Noah: Did you name it?
Elephant: What?
Noah: Did you name it?
Elephant: Uh, yeah, he's Paul.
Noah: Yeah, well it's gonna be a lot harder for you now, 'cause he's going the fuck overboard. - Know When to Fold 'Em: Stewie's advice to Meg:Stewie: You hear that Meg? Guys can marry other guys now. So, ummm... this is awkward, but... I mean, if they can do that.. that's pretty much it for you, isn't it? Might as well pack it in, game over.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Lois when she realizes that her views on gay marriage were the result of her parents' poor excuse for a marriage.
- Chris when he feels guilty for burning Brian's petition to support gay marriage because he wanted to have sex with Alyssa.
- Naked People Are Funny: One cutaway involves Bill Clinton going to retrieve his mail... in the nude.Clinton: (singing) Oh this is one fine day to be nude! / Yes, this is one fine day to be nude! / The birds are singing, "Clinton, have a wonderful spring", / [starts skipping] And people walking by can stop and look at my thing! / Oh this is one fine day-
[Chris appears]
Chris: Liberal chubby-chaser! [Throws egg at Clinton]
Clinton: Hahahahaha, well, if you can't laugh at yourself... - Scandalgate: The "Dig 'Em" scandal.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Having problems with gay marriage and having one at her house (without Brian even asking her first), Lois decides to visit her parents and takes Stewie with her.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: A
Deleted Scene during the ending had Stewie discover that, after all the effort Brian put into getting Jasper's wedding approved, his partner (who doesn't speak a word of English) doesn't even know he's getting married. - Suspiciously Specific Denial: After Mayor West wastes taxpayer money on a gold statue of the Sugar Smacks frog mascot "Dig 'Em", he announces that there will be tax hikes that have absolutely nothing to do with the statue.
- Take That!: After getting all the signatures, Brian says he did some things in West Quahog that he's not proud of. A cutaway shows him watching Sex and the City with a couple gay guys.Brian: So, it's a show about three hookers and their mom?
- Tomato in the Mirror: Parodied when Adam West gets hit by a brick and bleeds from his nose.Adam West: My God, I'm a tomato!
- Undying Loyalty: Brian shows he will go to any lengths to help his cousin Jasper after everything Jasper has done for him. When Mayor West disregards Brian's petition despite all the necessary signatures, Brian steals the gun from the security guard and holds the mayor hostage.
- The Unintelligible: Popeye is depicted as this, which is presented as being due to a stroke.
- We Need a Distraction: The conflict in the episode is kicked off when Mayor West bans same-sex marriage in order to distract the citizens of Quahog from the fact he spent tax payer money on a solid gold statue of Dig 'em. He eventually relents on the ban after he sees the commotion Brian stirred up distracted people from complaining about the statue.
- Very Special Episode: The episode tackles on LGBT+ rights, gay marriage, homophobia and marriage equality.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The subplot with Chris and Alyssa is never resolved. Though Chris realizes his mistake burning Brian's petition and presumably Alyssa breaks up with him because his dog got Mayor West to approve of gay marriage.
