Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Today's PG features news of an alliance promoting gay wedding announcements in newspapers throughout the land.

Mr. Robinson said the alliance is intensifying its campaign to encourage gays and lesbians to submit news of their engagements and commitment ceremonies.

“For a lot of daily newspapers, a lot of editorial decisions are driven by their community,” he said.

“When we hear about same-sex relationships or same-sex households and families, it's often in a political context. We really want to revisit this from the aspect of people celebrating their lives every day — couples celebrating their commitments, just like everyone else, in the pages of the newspaper.”

The initiative began in 2002 when the alliance's leadership met with members of The New York Times' editorial board, which at the time would not publish such announcements. It changed that policy.

Now all of the nation's top 50 media markets and 99 out of the top 100 are home to a newspaper with an inclusive announcement policy.

“It's important for all of us to have the opportunity to share our commitments,” he said. “When people are shut out of that process, it is not only a form of discrimination, but in many ways, it creates a separate but unequal structure where certain families are valued more in our society.”

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