Apparently, there’s been some confusion. Some unhappy callers have this newspaper mixed up with a neighbor to the north, the Skagit Valley Herald.
We’ll get to that later. First, I want to say how proud I am to work for The Herald here in Snohomish County.
I’m proud of my colleagues’ professionalism and diligent journalism. I’m proud of this paper’s community involvement, which includes another summer of Get Movin’ activity incentives for kids. Today, I’m particularly proud of a courageous move The Herald made 16 years ago.
On Dec. 2, 1990, The Herald changed the name of its “Wedding Book” page of engagement and wedding notices to “Celebrations.” For the first time that Sunday, the page included an announcement of a lesbian couple’s commitment ceremony.
The Herald was one of the first newspapers in the country to take this step, and that small announcement was big news, from the Seattle newspapers to The New York Times.
“Our policy hasn’t changed since we ran our first announcement in 1990,” Herald executive editor Stan Strick said Thursday. “We offer both free Celebrations announcements and paid Celebrations ads for gay couples.”
About that confusion, Strick said he received two phone messages Thursday from callers upset about a TV report of a newspaper refusing to run an announcement for a lesbian couple’s commitment ceremony. It was the Skagit Valley Herald that barred a same-sex notice. The Mount Vernon newspaper was the subject of a heated piece Wednesday by KOMO television and radio commentator Ken Schram.
On Thursday, an opinion piece by Skagit Valley Herald editor Don Nelson blasted the Schram commentary as “bad journalism,” and defended the newspaper’s policy by saying, “We do not print such announcements because state law does not acknowledge same-sex marriages.”
The paper would reconsider its policy if the state changes its definition of marriage, he wrote.
“Agree, disagree, that’s your option,” Nelson wrote.
I disagree.
In 1990, Strick said this Herald’s change was based on a decision to acknowledge many kinds of public announcements, including retirements and birthdays, adoptions and anniversaries.
“Our policy is to allow open access to our pages” and to reflect the society in which we live, Strick said at the time.
Some people disagreed – vehemently. Yet on Thursday, callers were angry because they thought we’d excluded a same-sex announcement. I think that’s an indication that this newspaper does reflect our community.
Including gay couples on our pages was the right decision in 1990. It has been right to stand by that decision all these years, as society becomes more open and inclusive.
John Marsh has seen the changes. He and his partner, Bob Teichman, have been together 36 years. The Marysville men are involved in the Snohomish County Gay Men’s Task Force, which began under the umbrella of the Snohomish Health District as an AIDS prevention group.
“There’s been a huge improvement,” Marsh said. “Society is much more accepting of gay people today. We were at the Seattle Pride Festival two weeks ago, and there were thousands and thousands of people.”
Brenda Newell is manager of a Snohomish Health District AIDS/HIV program. She also works with a gay and lesbian youth support group.
She, too, has seen positive changes, but is still concerned about high rates of depression, suicide and drug use among gay teens who feel isolated or targeted. Newell said a celebration notice in a newspaper may seem like a small thing, but it makes people feel “validated and recognized as human beings.”
Wednesday’s Herald contained an announcement of a commitment ceremony. Timothy Alan Hall and Daniel Patrick Pickett are planning their celebration for Aug. 12 in Arlington.
“Quite a few people called me to say ‘I saw you in the paper,’” Hall said Thursday. “They’re just happy for me.”
Not everyone was as happy for them, though. Two callers complained about the couple’s announcement.
Hall, 37, owns a hair salon in Snohomish, and said many longtime clients shared in his happy news. He grew up in Snohomish and left at 19, but has been back in town for several years. He said he now feels welcome in his hometown.
“Why should we be left out?” Hall said.
There are all kinds of pride. I’m proud to say Hall and his partner weren’t left out.
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.
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