The Spectrum, a southern Utah newspaper, has denied the request to publish a wedding announcement, because the couple was gay. Tyler Barrick and Spencer Jones, who reside in San Francisco, were legally married in June 2008, and wanted their announcement published prior to a family party in Utah this year.
“After all, our marriage is just as real and legal and entitled to celebration as any of the others that are announced each week in the pages of The Spectrum,” Jones wrote in an e-mail to Donnie Welch, the newspaper publisher.
Welch originally agreed to run the announcement in the paper without a picture of the couple, as it may have made readers uncomfortable. But soon after, Jones asked Welch to reconsider his decision. Welch made the choice to not run the ad.
“As our policy is to run marriage announcements recognized by Utah law, I have made the decision not to run the announcement,” explained Welch. The group GLAAD – Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, has worked for years to get newspapers to publish wedding announcements for gay couples.
A member of GLAAD spoke to Welch, trying to change his mind on the wedding announcement of Barrick and Jones, but the publisher did not change his mind. On Thursday, GLAAD made a note on their Web site, encouraging concerned people to contact The Spectrum.
When the couple heard their announcement would not be run in the newspaper, they just let the issue go. Barrick “didn’t want to be the poster couple for gay marriage”, although the couple fought against Proposition 8 in California. Fortunately, Barrick and Jones announcement was published in The Salt Lake Tribune.
I do not understand how people like Welch can treat others the way he did. Because of a person’s sexual orientation we have to outlaw them, treating them as if they do not exist? That is not right in my eyes.
Yes, the Bible says marriage is to be held between a man and a woman. But when two people are in love, they should be able to openly express their feelings for one another, no matter their gender or sexual preference. If two men or two women get married to each other, how is that going to affect us personally? It is not. Every body, straights, lesbians, and gays deserve equal rights.
Comments
Good for you, Sarah. Keep up the good fight.
Woah...Utah is on a roll. The Mormon Church basically bankrolled the "No on 8" campaign here in California that defeated same-sex marriage. If they can practice their weirdo cult "religion," two people that love each other should be allowed equal rights. The twentifirst century is going to come around and bite them in the ass before too long. Good article.
Every article you write is so left winged its unreal. You really should think about all sides of the story. It makes you look not very credible.
I agree. You need to be more open about your writing
This writer kinda looks like she has down syndrome
All I have to say is defining marriage by the bible doesnt seem right to me. Marriage takes place in many different religions, not all religions go by the bible. Defining marriage by the bible just doesn't seem to recognize religious freedom.
Awesome article, very well written. My one request would be to include a link to the page where one can write this newspaper.
Regardless of what the bible says, there are millions of people who are not christian in this nation who deserve the same freedom to live their lives like everybody else. The bible says a LOT of things that are completely disregarded, if not entirely contradicted in American society today.
Ah yes, Utah once again makes news for being so far behind the times. How ridiculous. No wonder the state is primarily fly-over or connection territory without having many reasons to stay a while. Thanks for telling us about this insanity!
What if the paper refused to publish the wedding announcement of a black couple? I bet there'd be a fair amount of outrage then.
"If two men or two women get married to each other, how is that going to affect us personally? It is not." WRONG. It does affect me personally and my children. If they are truly "married" under the law, then we have redefined what constitues a family. What gives us that right? I believe that God, Allah- whatever you want to call him does have that right. And he has said it is between a MAN and a WOMAN. Don't fool yourself into thinking this doesn't affect anything, becaue it has very large ripples...
In our country a PRIVATELY OWNED NEWSPAPER has the right to publish whatever "advertisement" they decide to run. This is not a NEWS STORY, it is a party advertisement. Gotta love the liberal media telling everyone what is acceptable and what isn't.
If Lil Wayne took the time to search the newspaper's website he'd see very clearly that this was not a private advertisement, but a FREE listing offered by the newspaper to couples making announcements. Plain and simple. A newspaper like this is similar to watching Fox News. Homophobic, fear mongering, segregationist garbage. And we wonder why we can't all get along? If you are truly a God-loving "Christian" then you accept everyone for who they are, how they were made and don't condemn them for not being like you. You holy rollers disgust me.
Sounds like Mr. Harris has an issue with "getting along" with people.
Great article. My thoughts (and I'm a Christian so please don't start quoting the Bible).. ALL people on this planet should have the same rights. If you read some of the Old Testament, you will find verses that are quite disturbing .. i.e. children who speak ill of their parents, should be killed. If you do your research before speaking, maybe you will understand that gay, lesbian, bi and transgenders are born that way! Take time, before using the Old Testament as your reference, to watch the following movies: "A Prayer for Bobbie" and "For The Bible Tells Me So".
Also, I find anyone who will say something rude and unkind about a writer they disagree with, more than immature. Let's keep it to the subject at hand.
"Look at all sides of the story" you say.. On this issue, there aren't other sides. This writer is right on and appears to have done her research. Keep writing, Ms. Sarah.
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