LeftOut

GOOD NEWS
by Daryl Moore

The Times at last commits to a gay precedent

I rush through the New York Times every day when I get up. It and a cup of coffee are prerequisites for me leaving my house. On Sundays, however, I spend hours working my way through every section of the Sunday Times. It is my weekly ritual. It completes my Sunday trifecta of overeating and being lazy. If I miss a meal, the Times, or sufficient downtime, Monday morning is just not going to be as it should be.

A few Sundays ago, I was reading the "Weddings & Celebrations" section of the Times. When I turned the page, though, I did not see a familiar-looking photo of a bride and a groom. Instead, there was a picture of two grooms, Stephen and Daniel.

Underneath the picture, the announcement set forth the grooms' family backgrounds, their academic credentials, and the road to their commitment ceremony. It detailed their three-day commitment event, which included a religious ceremony approved by Reform Judaism and a secular ceremony approved by the state of Vermont.

It was unsettling. I did not expect it. No one told me that the New York Times had decided to run announcements for gay and lesbian commitment ceremonies. And this picture of two gay men in love smiling out at me from the pages of the most circulated newspaper in America upset my Sunday sense of familiarity. This would take some getting used to.

Last week, the Times gave me another opportunity to get used to it. This time, it announced the commitment ceremony of Macky Alston and Nicholas Gottlieb, a Protestant and a Jew, who met on a blind date in 1992. Macky and Nick had just celebrated their three-day commitment event, which was officiated by a United Church of Christ reverend, a cantor, and one of the groom's fathers, who happens to be a Presbyterian minister.

From straight couples to same-sex interfaith couples in a matter of weeks. I think I am getting used to this. And as I lay on my sofa thinking of how I now look forward to same-sex commitment announcements as part of my Sunday ritual, I wondered how many other people in America looking at the same announcement were not quite so enthusiastic about the changes the Sunday Times had begun to report.

I wondered how many welcomed the announcement. How many felt sick that one of the most prominent newspapers in America would agree to publish it? And how many experienced emotions somewhere between joy and repugnance, from indifference to outrage?

I realized then that what people think about the announcement is irrelevant. What they think about a photograph of two men in love is irrelevant. What is relevant is that the New York Times finally announced a same-sex commitment ceremony complete with a picture of two grooms, smiling out at America, placed comfortably between Kate and Robert, Suzy and Sam.

By celebrating same-sex ceremonies, the Times has finally acknowledged that whether readers like it or not, a same-sex commitment ceremony is newsworthy. It is an event that deserves commemoration by the press. It belongs in the "Weddings & Celebrations" section, just like Stephen and Daniel belong next to Kate and Robert. And same-sex love belongs with "all the news that fit to print."

Writing from the liberal end of the spectrum, Houston attorney Daryl Moore has a general practice and is board certified in civil and appellate law. He can be reached at DarylMoore@outsmartmagazine.com.

WHAT ABOUT THE CHRONICLE?

"The Chronicle's policy is that it does not accept same-sex marriage announcements," said the reader representative, James Campbell, in a recent telephone interview. "That's because same-sex marriages are not legal in the state of Texas."

Campbell said the Chronicle does accept same-gender announcements in the "Celebrations" section of the Sunday edition. That section typically features announcements of engagements, anniversaries, bar mitzvahs, and other events. "We have in fact accepted same-sex celebration announcements for several years," Campbell said. -TB