Greg Gould and Aurelio Tine say they just wanted to share their wedding plans.
So they went one of the largest papers in New Hampshire, where gay marriage is legal and generally accepted, to work up a wedding announcement.
But the New Hampshire Union Leader, the Manchester paper known for its conservative viewpoints, refused to print it, a decision that has sparked anger from the couple and lit up the Twittersphere and the Web.
"I was really disappointed because the Union Leader is a big voice in the state of New Hampshire, and they seem to be so out of touch," Gould told CNN affiliate WMUR-TV in Manchester.
The newspaper, however, issued a statement saying that printing the announcement would be "hypocritical" given its previous practices.
“This newspaper has never published wedding or engagement announcements from homosexual couples," Publisher Joe McQuaid said. "It would be hypocritical of us to do so, given our belief that marriage is and needs to remain a social and civil structure between men and women and our opposition to the recent state law legalizing gay marriage.”
In its full statement, printed online, the paper said firmly that it is not "anti-gay" and because of press freedoms can choose to print - or not print - whatever it wants.
Still, that move hasn't stopped the matter from becoming a controversy, with Democratic Senate candidate Paul Hodes, making it an election issue as well.
Hodes wrote a letter to the paper that read in part: "Mr. Gould and Mr. Tine will become legally married this weekend and they should have the same opportunities as everyone in New Hampshire to have their marriage publicized and recognized. The Union Leader's disgraceful policy of exclusion harkens to a different time in this country when people were denied opportunity because of their race, religion and ethnic origin."
What do you think? Should the paper give gay couples the same chance to announce their weddings? Or does freedom of the press override that, and allow the newspaper to make the decision it did? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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I can only respect and trust a news organization that creates a strict wall between its editorial and news functions. Otherwise it appears that the news has been filtered through the editorial bias. I thought that newspapers generally understood this aspect of integrity, but from all appearances that doesn't appear true for conservatives.
Much as I would hate to say otherwise, NO news is purely correct. I though CNN was fairly unbiased (i.e. just wrote what happened without making comments on it) but then I realized that that doesn't sell well, and they pretty much do not fit that description anymore.
I agree, CNN's news coverage is suspect. But I feel their bias is toward selling stories to keep reader interest, as they "slam" both sides, than it is to promote one particular view over another.
The paper took a stand against gay marriage. That's their right. You can't force people to agree with you. And the people who say that opposition to gay marriage is religious are idiots. That's ridiculous. The entire universe works on the principle of yin and yang. Physics, biology, chemistry, perhaps even mathematics – all of these clearly demonstrate that NO other combination but Yin/Yang (positive/negative) will ever be a balanced pair. Marriage can only ever be a combination of yin and yang. yin and yin, or yang and yang, are opposite from a marriage. You don't need any religion to see that. Just try putting two magnets together at the same-charge sides. They will fly away from each other. You must put positive to negative to get them to cling. common sense people. really. boy+boy doesn't work. boy+girl does.
"That's ridiculous. The entire universe operates on the principle of yin and yang." Love it!
"That's ridiculous. The entire universe operates on the principle of yin and yang." Love the dissonance!
your entire argument is ridiculous. You should do some more scientific research on the "entire universe" before you post something that stupid again. Let me help you
Whiptail lizard
Amazon Molly
Dogs
Cats
Brown Bear
King Penguin.......
Let me know if you need more
well, you say the universe in its entirety operates on some yin/yang principle, and I disagree. It is a concentrated whole, and your division of it into peices is as fallacious as your assumed free will. You do not have free-will, you have choices determined by your surrounding environment, and limited by it as well. Stuff your yin/yang crap back into the stone age where it belongs. yin/yang is merely a convenient label for that which you do not fully understand, and you do not appreciate it as an integral system. These gays are wrong to press this paper to print their marriages. They would show intelligence by simply posting it elsewhere, and boycotting this archaic news organization.
also, I dont know if youve ever heard of uncharged particles, they are called neutrons (some anyhow). comparing human beings to electric charge is a very black and white way of looking at things, similar to your yin/yang. it discounts any third or fourth possibly interacting forces before checking to see if they are there.
a friend of mine has a love affair with two women, the three of them love each other very much, but are not being accepted by their gay friends. they three of them want to get married but no one will hear their pleas. why are gays so hypocritical?
Not sure. Why do you lie on public forums?
Ummm... practically ANYONE wanting new rights is hypocritical on this issue. Black civil rights leaders are not noted for supporting gay rights, and neither are women's rights groups, even though they face a similar issue. It's like Jewish slaveowners (happened, not proud to say). It's simply idiotic people. That said, NAMBLA will never be acceptable. Partially because the vast majority of membership is pervy men, not boys. You don't see a lot of the 'boy' part of the North American Man-Boy Love Association. It's not all that consensual, and therefore is not okay in my book.
is the paper privately owned? If so, the owner is free to print or not print whatever he/she wants. Take your announcement to another paper that will print it and stop crying.
a man wants to marry another man, and tell about it in a newspaper? Be ashamed.
Yes, being who you are and loving another person are surely something to be ashamed about!
I Like, I like!!! Proud of going up some place which is never meant to be poked!!
It's pretty clear that people who conjure up graphic images have spent some time thinking about them.
I'ma go with rafael on this one.
Never mind gay marriage....
Look at the 'spelling' of the responses here.......
And the Europeans are yet again laughing at us............Once again.
Ya know the newspaper agency has every right not to print there announcement, they dont own them, go somewhere else to have it printed and quit your whining, Thank God I am straight.
Huh? I thought it was your choice.
Every gay person is glad you're straight, too. Surely.
i said it before and i'll say it again, Peanutman, you are nuts.
To those who are against gay marriage and equal rights and protections for your fellow Americans, know one day, sooner than later, your grandchildren if not your children with look upon your words and actions with pity and disgust as decent people today look upon those who were against the Civil Rights Act.
Marco why do u believe that being gay makes you special? Gays are not minorities, yet they seek equal rights for what? a lifestyle? so what I am a vegetarian, should I have special rights too? where does it end? Be gay, be happy, be quiet.
This would seem to me flatly illegal. Gay marriage is legal in that state, and the paper's discrimination between legally married couples, based on gender, is surely actionable. I hope they sue.
I would love for there to be a god. But look what humans have done to the one they created. If jesus were alive today we would kill him
Please... there must be another newspaper in the freaking state. It sounds like the couple is just going after a paper that they already knew didn't print marriage announcements. Kind of like the lesbian couple that wanted to enroll their child in Catholic elementary school, and when the school said they didn't think it was the right fit for them or the child, who would most likely find it stressful to attend a school that held belief against gay couples and gay marriage, they sue. Ridiculous. However, to be clear, I also think it's ridiculous that any paper gives up a dime of personals money given the state of both the newspaper industry and the economy, but again, it's their right to do it, so call another paper unless the couple is trying to make an issue with this paper, which sounds like they are.
With all the stuff thats going on in this country, i wouldnt be suprised if God allows another country to destroy America, and you know it could happen.
I bet all of the third world countries are probably laughing at us. This country is becoming weak.
I bet you'll reply to this a second time before you realize you're talking to yourself.
Yup. You're NOT preaching to the choir. Also, I'm betting it will be China. Admittedly, 'destroy' is too strong a word. They're just gonna kinda buy us out. Shooting people is too expensive these days, but selling guns is profitable. But China, being roughly the size of the U.S., and having a larger population and an economy more or less on the rise, is most likely to do it. And they're not legally allowed to HAVE a religion. Bet your version of God would REALLY like a country that does not believe in Christianity to take us over, yeah? Anyhoo, I'm not religious, I do NOT believe we are in the end times, as literally every generation says that and it's just a realization of our own mortality and/or boredom, and China will not buy us out. At least, I THINK they won't.
Le 18:22 'You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination. It was pretty clear, not a gray area but black and white.
As was killing people for adultery, but we have decided we can live without enforcing that. Why is this different?
Pick and choose whatever agrees with your own prejudices. If people REALLY cared about following everything in the Bible, they'd be trashing divorced people, people who eat shellfish, and athletes or anyone working in the Sabbath. Just hypocrisy.
Yeah, Leviticus is really not the way to go here.
Mr. Gould accuses the New Hampshire Union Leader of being out of touch, but the oposite it true. Anyone who suports gay marriage is out of touch with reality. Even if the government is misguided enough to say that two men may marry, that does not make it a marriage. The inherent meaning of marriage is that it is a covenant between a man and a woman. A marriage of two men or two women would be a false marriage, even if the government says they are married. Everyone knows this. The very idea that it is all right to be gay is one of the great lies of our time. The falsly accused Union Leader is correct in not supporting the gay agenda. Intelligent, knowledgeable and morally upright organizations and individuals do not suport sinful behavior such as the gay agenda.
Newspapers are supposed to report news in their news section and editorials in the editorials section. Announcements are news items are not part of the paper that they are supposed to support or reject. A decision like this puts into questions the integrity of any of their news reporting.
Erik, yo might want to actually study what's made a marriage throughout history. Then post.
sin does not exsist.. your judgement creates darkness.. witness.. do not choose.. judgement is wrong
Amen Erik,
To Eric. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Is that so?
I never thought the day would come when people let that little box in the corner (or wall now) convince them that it's o.k. to be GAY!! You know it's not right, you look at yourself in the mirror daily and instead of dealing with how you look, you think eventually they will get it!!! YOUR NOT GAY!!! YOU HAVE ISSUES YOU ARE AFRAID TO DEAL WITH. Seek help, read your bible and ask yourself if everyone was GAY would I be here??????
It's a poor argument. If everyone chose not to have children you wouldn't be here, but that doesn't mean our society should discriminate against childless couples. We're talking about individuals making personal decisions that don't affect you, and making arguments about the continuity of the human species seems a bit desperate.
hank, that's a intriguing thought. It'd be great if anti-gay bigots were never here in the first place.
you need to educate yourself a bit.. seriously.. do not speak until you do as it is very unbecoming