Executive editor J.J. Perry announces that the Aberdeen American News will be taking marriage announcements from everyone able to legally marry in South Dakota, including same-sex couples:
Those who go to aberdeennews.com/site/forms/announcements will note that some of the language has changed to better mirror the law of the land.
We took some of our guidance from the state; South Dakota has updated its marriage licenses to read “spouse A” and “spouse B,” rather than “bride” and “groom.”
In our forms, both parties will have the opportunity to select from “bride” and “groom” categories. Those choices should make the process more inclusive, and will still get the right information to the newspaper [J.J. Perry, “SCOTUS Ruling Means Change to Paper’s Wedding Announcements,” Aberdeen American News, 2015.07.06].
Perry does not say whether workers with religious objections to announcing such unions will be permitted to throw their wooden shoes into the presses. However, readers concerned that reading such announcements will tarnish their rings may skip that page and turn directly to the divorce announcements.
LOVE the last sentence. Concisely describes the hypocrisy that abounds in light of the SCOTUS decision. What a better place the world would be if we practiced tolerance instead of judgment. Live and let live. Agree to disagree. One can be a devout Christian without passing judgement on others. Wait. Isn’t judging instead of accepting & respecting one another an antithesis to Christianity? Well written, as usual, Cory.
Thanks, Brandi! Glad to have you reading.
Remember, I don’t mind judging. I find judging rather useful. But at the very least, one must judge consistently, and griping that a loving couple’s quest to solemnize their lifelong relationship in the eyes of the law poses a grave threat to marriage while barely mentioning the problem of divorce is at least inconsistent.
Good for the Aberdeen American.
What took the Aberdeen American so long? Being a private corporation this is a policy they could have changed years ago. They certainly didn’t a SCOTUS ruling to implement it. I hope Editor Perry didn’t strain himself patting himself on his back.
Believe it or not, the Rapid City Journal has been announcing same-sex engagements and marriages for some time now.