The Dallas Morning News Says No Gay Couples in "Weddings" Section

by Michael Jones · 2010-11-23 11:41:00 UTC
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Remember earlier this month when Dallas couple Mark Reed-Walkup and Dante Walkup got married over the Internet, in what many consider the first same-sex wedding over Skype? It was a beautiful new media moment, as the couple exchanged vows in front of family and friends in Dallas, with the help of an officiant in Washington, D.C. (where same-sex marriage is legal).

Now, Mark and Dante want to have their same-sex wedding announced in the Dallas Morning News, the city's daily newspaper. But while the Dallas Morning News says they'll run an announcement in their "Commitments" section, they're unwilling to run the announcement in the "Weddings" section. For the Dallas Morning News, the "Weddings" section is off limits for same-sex couples, even though five states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriage.

The decision by the Dallas Morning News has prompted Mark and Dante to file a complaint with the city, suggesting that the paper is discriminating against gay couples. According to the Dallas Voice, the couple is using a city ordinance barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation to make their case. Since wedding announcements are essentially paid advertisements, at least according to the couple, they ought to constitute a public accommodation and as such, the Dallas Morning News shouldn't segregate same-sex wedding announcements to a different section of the paper.

"Our ultimate goal is for the newspaper to realize that this is discrimination and change their policy,” Reed-Walkup said, according to the Dallas Voice. “They [the city] may agree with the newspaper that because of the ban on same-sex marriage in Texas, they have every justification to not publish it in the ‘Weddings’ section. At least we can say that we tried, and take it from there.”

Ah, the mantra of all good activism. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

For the Dallas Morning News, this could be a real teachable moment. So far, the paper has relied on the fact that since Texas doesn't recognize same-sex marriage, wedding announcements for gay couples can be placed in a different section under a different name. But as one of the leading dailies in the country, the Dallas Morning News could take the bull by the horns and recognize that residents in the city are getting same-sex married in jurisdictions where it's legal. Maybe those relationships aren't recognized by the state of Texas, but they are legally recognized elsewhere. Shouldn't the pages of the Dallas Morning News reflect that?

Send the paper a message, urging them to seize this opportunity to change their policy. For instance, the New York Times publishes same-sex wedding announcements, even though the state of New York doesn't recognize same-sex marriage. Shouldn't that be the standard for publications that want to be inclusive of all their citizens, even if the state they publish in is a bit behind the times?

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.

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Hey Dallas Morning News: Same-Sex Marriage Announcements Belong in the Weddings Section
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