Victory! Dallas Morning News to Publish Same-Sex Marriages in “Weddings” Section

by Michael Jones · 2011-07-02 11:19:00 UTC
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In January 2011, Change.org first brought you the story of Mark Reed-Walkup and Dante Walkup, a Dallas couple who was legally married in Washington, D.C., yet couldn’t get their marriage announcement printed in the Dallas Morning News’ “Weddings” section. The Dallas Morning News told Mark and Dante that same-sex couples weren’t welcome in the “Weddings” section, and that because Texas state law banned same-sex marriage, the paper was justified in omitting same-sex couples from its pages.

Mark and Dante wouldn’t take no for an answer. In sharing their story with Change.org, Mark and Dante urged Change.org members to put pressure on the Dallas Morning News, and demand the paper get rid of this discriminatory and anti-equality policy.

After months of pressure from nearly 15,000 Change.org members, groups including GetEqual, as well as the persistent work of Mark and Dante – who even filed an anti-discrimination complaint against the Dallas Morning News – the paper has announced that they are changing their policy and will print same-sex wedding announcements in their “Weddings” section. Publisher James Moroney said that “it’s the right thing to do,” and that the decision will be effective July 10, 2011.

Mark told Change.org that this victory spotlights how even in the reddest of states, battles for equality can be fought and won.

“This is huge. Having one of the biggest papers in Texas, a conservative state with a track record of anti-gay policies, make this change is amazing,” Mark said. He then added a special note to the Change.org members who signed this petition.

“This is how we change the world and this is why what all you do is so important.  We will forever be grateful to those who helped support two guys in Texas fighting for equality.”

Let’s help take the momentum from this victory, and turn it into a watershed moment for equality on the pages of our nation’s newspapers. Does your local newspaper currently deny same-sex couples the right to have their marriage announcements printed in the “Weddings” section?

If so, start a petition here, and let’s leverage this moment so that more newspapers join the ranks of the Dallas Morning News and include same-sex couples in their “Weddings” section.

Photo credit: Mark Reed-Walkup

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.

RELATED PETITION

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