Forum says it will publish gay marriage notices

 

The newspaper was criticized locally and online for refusing to publish the marriage notice of a lesbian couple who plan to marry in New York, where gay marriage is legally recognized. By: Herald Staff Report, Grand Forks Herald

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Allison Johnson, left, and Kelsey Smith meet Tuesday, July 25, 2012, with Forum Editor Matt Von Pinnon at The Forum in Fargo N.D. They plan to marry in Aug. 1 in New York. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

              

 

Facing a storm of criticism locally and online for refusing to publish a same-sex couple’s wedding announcement, The Forum newspaper said today that it will accept all such announcements — if the wedding is legal.
“Starting today, The Forum will accept for publication the announcements of gay marriages, engagements and anniversaries if the marriage takes place in a state or country where it’s legally recognized,” Editor Matt Von Pinnon wrote in his column.
The newspaper won’t take sides in the debate, but its mission is to provide information to the public, which includes marriages, he wrote.
The couple that was turned away — Kelsey Smith, 27, Fargo, and Allison Johnson, 31, Austin, Texas — plans to marry in New York, where same-sex marriages are legal.
Previously, Von Pinnon has said The Forum used as “guiding principles” laws in Minnesota and North Dakota, which do not recognize gay marriages.
More than 600 people contacted The Forum, some agreeing with its former policy of not an-nouncing gay marriages and some disagreeing, according to the column.
Dividing issue
“It’s safe to say that people in our region are equally divided over the issue of gay marriage, a debate that goes well beyond the question of whether this newspaper should publish such announcements,” Von Pinnon wrote.
He wrote that “a good newspaper mirrors its community,” but, in the end, “this policy review came down to one thing: We inform the public, plain and simple. Except for what’s found on the Opinion page, we don’t choose sides. We report on many, many things that we neither endorse nor condemn. That’s the nature of news. Some people would like us to deny that gay marriage is legally recognized in several states and countries. To not recognize that fact is to deny or distort the truth, something we’re not willing to do.”
Among newspapers in major cities in North Dakota, the Herald and the Bismarck Tribune also print gay marriage announcements. The editor of the Minot Daily News has said his newspaper would look to state law for guidance.
The Herald, which, like The Forum, is owned by Forum Communications, first printed an announcement of a “commitment ceremony” in 2003.
The Forum will not go as far.
“We will not publish announcements for non-legally recognized marriages, such as civil unions and commitment ceremonies,” Von Pinnon wrote.
“We know that for some people this policy change doesn’t go far enough,” he wrote. “For others, it goes too far. We think it’s a reasonable announcement policy for the vast majority our community”