Announcing Your Commitment
Newspapers that Publish Same-Sex Couples’ Nuptial Notices
by Demian
© November 23, 2010, Demian


Since 1985, we have seen slow, steady recognition of same-sex couples. Part of this recognition appears in the form of newspaper marriage announcements. Marriage is socially understood to be one signpost of adulthood and responsibility.

Besides being important to the couples, marriage announcements inform society — really all one’s friends and neighbors — of a relationship commitment. Couples that are not allowed to announce their commitment in newspapers are rendered invisible, nonexistent. Besides being a denial of the reality of committed, same-sex families, it is humiliating and dehumanizing.

Prior to 1990, no mainstream newspaper offered commitment announcements, of any sort, for same-sex couples.

As of August 2002, there were more than 115 that offer announcements.

In August 18, 2004, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) announced the results of their two-year-long Equality Project. Same-sex marriage or ceremonial announcements were being made in 504, or about one-third of the approximately 1,500 daily newspapers in the United States.

Among the statistics GLAAD announced:

  • All of the nation’s top 25 media markets, 48 of the top 50, and 87 of the top 100 are home to at least one newspaper with an inclusive announcements policy.
  • An estimated one-half of all newspaper readers read a paper that accepts same-sex union announcements.
  • 49 of 50 states have at least one inclusive newspaper. Only Mississippi does not.
  • 74% of the newspapers that accept same-sex union announcements are in states with laws banning same-sex marriage.
  • The New York Times, with a circulation of approximately 1.7 million, is the largest newspaper in the nation that prints same-sex union announcements. The Daily Guide in Waynesville, Missouri (circulation 1,931), is the smallest.
By December 1, 2004, more than 506 newspapers offer announcements.

Why So Slow to Cover Marriage News?

It has taken newspapers so long, in part, because of the fact that some sectors of American society hate gay and lesbian people, and do not want them to have any sort of recognition or acceptance. They use terms like “counterfeit” to describe a same-sex family. Some editors themselves may feel this animus.

Others editors may think they could lose subscribers by merely placing same-sex couples on the same page as opposite-sex couples — a phenomena directly parallel to interracial couples being denied marriage announcements prior to the 1970s.

Another reason for the delay in recognition is confusion about marriage itself. While in the U.S., access to legal marriage is limited, same-sex couples can certainly have a marriage ceremony, which is available everywhere and is not illegal.

The fact is, newspapers do not know if the marriages of opposite-sex couples that they announce are legal or not. Indeed, many newspapers run engagement notices, which are certainly not a legal event. It is the newspapers’ job to make event and news announcements. They usually do not ask to see a marriage license.

Some editors have stated that they are merely following “community standards,” and they do not wish to transgress. However, as Michael Bronski has written:

“People who speak of ‘community standards’ are, for the most part, simply rubber-stamping the comfortable status quo that benefits them and their interests. … If those who run our country’s biggest newspapers followed their best instincts and traditions, they would spend most of their energy combating community standards, not pandering to them.”
— “Standard Deviation” by M. Bronski, Boston Phoenix, August 8, 2002
One of America’s best traditions is equality.

A third reason for the delay remains with same-sex couples themselves. A couple would need to be out of the closet, immune from job or housing loss, enjoy good relations with relatives and co-workers, and certain that their children would not be taken from them. Only when a couple feels safe would they be inclined to make such personal announcements.


Our Survey of the Gay Press

In February 1991, Partners Task Force distributed surveys to about 700 gay-oriented print and broadcast media to determine their policies and practices concerning coverage of relationship unions and anniversaries.

Having monitored nearly a hundred publications over several years, the Task Force observed increasing coverage of couples issues. However, the gay media appeared to fall short of honoring same-sex relationships in the same way daily newspapers do with regular announcements of weddings and anniversaries. It appeared that obituaries were the only personal landmarks regularly covered in most of the gay press.

Our decision to survey the gay press was also informed by such incidents as a 1991 letter to Boston’s Gay Community News. In it, partners Ruth I. Goran and Laurie E. Weinstein complained that several Boston-based gay and lesbian publications refused to publish an announcement of their union ceremony.

Goran and Weinstein wrote:

“We were shocked and offended that our own newspapers behave as though these unions were totally unimportant and undeserving of space and acknowledgement, while publishing numerous stories about the straight community treating us as second-class citizens, and suggesting we have a duty and responsibility to protest unequal treatment. We strongly believe that if our own community and its publications do not support committed relationships, we have no hope that the straight community will ever recognize them as valid.”
The aim of our survey was to encourage couples to share their stories with the gay/lesbian media, which our survey found generally receptive to news of our relationship landmarks.

For the full survey report, please see our article:
      Are Couples Overlooked? Partners’ Gay/Lesbian Media Survey


Announcement Landmarks

  • Paul Ochman, a 1987 graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his partner, John Graham, a former assistant professor of the university were wed during the group marriage ceremony at the 1987 March on Washington. They struggled to have the Illinois Alumni News print their wedding announcement; the editor claimed their marriage was not legal, a standard that is not applied to opposite-sex couples.
  • The Everett Herald, the daily newspaper for a town of 54,000, due north of Seattle, in November 1990 became the first mainstream newspaper to publish same-sex couples’ ceremony notices. The Herald’s managing editor Stan Strick commented:
    “Newspapers have a lot of rights under the First Amendment. And to me that imposes certain responsibilities, and one of those is open access to our pages by a diversity of groups. We were responding in that light.”
  • On December 4, 1990 the Marin Independent Journal, a San Francisco Bay Area daily based in Novato, California inaugurated its policy of inclusion.
  • Also in December 1990, Brattleboro Reformer in Vermont published notices.
  • In mid-March 1991, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune became the fourth — and largest at that time — U.S. daily newspaper to publish same-sex commitment notices. It was the only newspaper in a city with a domestic partnership legislation status.
  • Beginning in September 2002, the New York Times offered to run same-sex couples’ commitment ceremony notices alongside opposite-sex wedding announcements. At the time, same-sex couples could not legally marry in the United States, so to be considered for Times announcements, couples were required to hold a commitment ceremony, enter into a Vermont Civil Union, or register as domestic partners in their home city, county or state. The Times editors had the option of picking among those who submit announcements — based on the newsworthiness and accomplishments of the couples and their families — as was already the case for marriage announcements.

    The New York Times, with its 1.2 million circulation, was lobbied for a year by Marriage Equality and GLAAD to rescind its written policy of barring the announcements. The Times had fought for eight years — refusing to even meet with gay rights groups — before finally relenting in 1982 to use thew word “gay” rather than the clinical term “homosexual.”


Newspapers Offering Listings

The following 508 mainstream newspapers offer announcements for same-sex couples. This list does not include the gay and lesbian press.

Some place the notices on the same pages as opposite-sex marriages. Other papers have created new — separate and unequal — categories of “Events,” “Celebrations,” “Announcements” or the like. Some print the notices for free, just like the marriage notices, others require fees.

Our sources include: news reports, other organization’s lists, and direct communication with a valid source.


ALABAMA

The Burmingham News (Birmingham, AL)
Demopolis Times (Demopolis, AL)
Enterprise Ledger (Enterprise, AL)
Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, AL)
Opelika-Auburn News (Opelika, AL)
The Tuscaloosa News (Tuscaloosa, AL)

ALASKA

Anchorage Daily News (Anchorage, AK) - began in March 1999
    - In March 1999, the paper printed Dan and Al Carter-Incontro’s 30-year anniversary announcement.
      In July 22, 2003, Dan and Al Carter-Incontro announced their legal Canadian marriage.
Daily Sitka Sentinel (Sitka, AK)
Juneau Empire (Juneau, AK)
Kodiak Daily Mirror (Kodiak, AK)

ARIZONA

Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ)
Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Casa Grande Dispatch (Casa Grande, AZ)
Daily Dispatch (Douglas, AZ)
Daily News-Sun (Sun City, AZ)
East Valley Tribune (Mesa, AZ)
Mohave Valley Daily News (Bullhead City, AZ)
Tucson Citizen (Tucson, AZ)
Yuma Daily Sun (Yuma, AZ)

ARKANSAS

Batesville Guard (Batesville, AR)
Daily Citizen (Searcy, AR)
Southwest Times Record (Fort Smith, AR)

CALIFORNIA

Argus Courier (Petaluma, CA)
Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, CA)
Bakersfield Californian (Bakersfield, CA)
Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA)
d, The (Palm Desert, CA)
Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA)
Daily Democrat (Woodland, CA)
Daily Independent (Ridgecrest, CA)
Daily News (Woodland Hills, CA)
Daily Review (Hayward, CA)
Davis Enterprise (Davis, CA)
Daily Press (Victorville, CA)
Desert Dispatch (Barstow, CA)
Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA)
Hanford Sentinel (Hanford, CA)
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)
Jewish Bulletin of Northern California (San Francisco, CA)
Lake County Record Bee (Lakeport, CA)
Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA)
Marin Independent Journal (Novato, CA)
Mercury-Register (Oroville, CA)
Mexicano, El (Bonita, CA)
Modesto Bee (Modesto, CA)
Napa Valley Register (Napa, CA)
News-Press (Santa Barbara, CA)
North County Times (Escondido, CA)
Oakland Tribune (Oakland, CA)
Opinión, La (Los Angeles, CA)
Orange County Register [Freedom Communications Inc.] (Santa Ana, CA)
Palo Alto Weekly (Palo Alto, CA)
Porterville Recorder (Porterville, CA)
Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA)
Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)
Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA)
Record (Stockton, CA)
Record Searchlight (Redding, CA)
Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, CA)
Salinas Californian (Sacramento, CA)
San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA)
San Diego Jewish Times (La Mesa, CA)
San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco, CA)
San Gabriel Valley Tribune (West Covina, CA)
San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, CA)
Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, CA)
Santa Monica Press Daily (Santa Monica, CA)
Signal & Saugus Enterprise (Valencia, CA)
Siskiyou Daily News (Yreka, CA)
Stockton Record (Stockton, CA)
    - Paid notices only
Tahoe Daily Tribune (South Lake Tahoe, CA)
Times-Standard (Eureka, CA)
Tri-Valley Herald (Pleasanton, CA)
Tribune (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Ukiah Daily Journal (Ukiah, CA)
Union Tribune (San Diego, CA)
Vallejo Times-Herald (Vallejo, CA)
Ventura County Star (Ventura, CA)
West County Times (Richmond, CA)
Whittier Daily News (Whittier, CA)

COLORADO

Aspen Times (Aspen, CO)
Chronicle News (Trinidad, CO)
Coloradoan (Ft. Collins, CO)
Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)
Denver Post (Denver, CO)
Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO)
Journal Advocate (Sterling, CO)
Junta Tribune-Democrat, La (La Junta, CO)
Lamar Daily News (Lamar, CO)
Pueblo Chieftain (Pueblo, CO)
Rocky Ford Daily Gazette (Rocky Ford, CO)
Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
Steamboat Pilot & Today (Steamboat, CO)

CONNECTICUT

As this state offers legal marriage, all Connecticut newspapers should offer announcements
for those legal marriages. Further, because those marriages are legal, couples should be able to
announced them in their home papers, if the couples are from another state.

Advocate (Stamford, CT)
Bridgeport News (Bridgeport, CT)
Bristol Press (Bristol, CT)
Day (New London, CT)
Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT)
Journal Inquirer (Manchester, CT)
News Times (Danbury, CT)
New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Norwich Bulletin (Norwich, CT)
Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)

DELAWARE

Delaware State News (Dover, DE)
News Journal (New Castle, DE)

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

As this district offers legal marriage, all D.C. newspapers should offer announcements
for those legal marriages. Further, because those marriages are legal, couples should be able to
announced them in their home papers, if the couples are from another state.

Washington Post (Washington, DC) - began in July 2003
    - Published their first same-sex, legal marriage notice, on July 23, 2003, in the
      “Weddings” rather than in the “Celebrations” section: commemorating Deb Price
      and Joyce Murdoch (together 10 years), married on June 27, 2003 in Toronto, Canada.

FLORIDA

Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, FL)
Daily Okeechobee News (Okeechobee, FL)
Destin Log (Destin, FL)
Citizen (Key West, FL)
Jackson County Floridan (Marianna, FL)
Ledger (Lakeland, FL)
Miami Herald (Miami, FL)
N’west Daily Florida News (Ft. Walton Beach, FL)
News Herald [Freedom Communications Inc.] (Panama City, FL)
News-Journal (Daytona Beach, FL)
Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL)
Palm Beach Daily News (Palm Beach, FL)
Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, FL)
St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg, FL) - began in 2004
    - Regarding legal marriage or Civil Unions, in January 4, 2004, the paper published the
      following: “The Times will publish the announcement, provided that the couple are local
      residents and that they had the ceremony in a jurisdiction that recognizes either their
      civil or religious union. Canada and Vermont fall into that category, and soon
      Massachusetts will.” Paid announcements can be made through the paper’s “Celebrations”
      feature for commitment ceremonies.
Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee, FL)
Tampa Tribune (Tampa, FL)
Walton Sun (Santa Rosa Beach, FL)

GEORGIA

Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, GA)
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, GA)
Daily Herald (McDonough, GA)
Marietta Daily Journal (Marietta, GA)
Trib Publications, Inc. (Fayetteville, GA)
Vision, La (Lawrenceville, GA)

HAWAII

Honolulu Advertiser (Honolulu, HI)
Maui News (Wailuku, HI)

IDAHO

Coeur D’Alene Press (Coeur D’Alene, ID)
Idaho Statesman (Boise, ID)
    - Published Rich Keefe and Bert Allen’s 20th anniversary announcement and photo.
Lewiston Morning Tribune (Lewiston, ID)
Post Register (Idaho Falls, ID)
Shoshone News Press (Kellogg, ID)

ILLINOIS

Beacon News (Aurora, IL)
Benton Evening News (Benton, IL)
Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)
Chicago Sun-Times (Chicago, IL)
Courier (Lincoln, IL)
Courier News (Elgin, IL)
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)
Daily Leader (Pontiac, IL)
Daily Record (Lawrenceville, IL)
Daily Register (Harrisburg, IL)
Daily Review Atlas (Monmouth, IL)
Iroquois Times-Republic (Watseka, IL)
Jacksonville Journal-Courier (Jacksonville, IL)
Journal Gazette (Mattoon, IL)
Litchfield News-Herald (Litchfield, IL)
Macomb Journal (Macomb, IL)
News-Sun (Waukegan, IL)
Red Streak (Chicago, IL)
Register News (Mount Vernon, IL)
Rockford Register Star (Rockford, IL)
Telegraph, The [Freedom Communications Inc.] (Alton, IL)

INDIANA

Elkhart Truth (Elkhart, IN)
Evansville Courier & Press (Evansville, IN)
Herald Bulletin (Anderson, IN)
Herald Times (Bloomington, IN)
Herald-Republican (Angola, IN)
Huntington Herald Press (Huntington, IN)
Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, IN)
News Gazette (Winchester, IN)
Noblesville Daily Times (Noblesville, IN)
Rensselaer Republican (Rensselaer, IN)
Star Press (Muncie, IN)
Sullivan Daily times (Sullivan, IN)
Tipton Tribune (Tipton, IN)
Tribune (New Albany, IN)

IOWA

As this state offers legal marriage, all Iowa newspapers should offer announcements
for those legal marriages. Further, because those marriages are legal, couples should be able to
announced them in their home papers, if the couples are from another state.

Centerville Daily Iowegian (Centerville, IA)
Courier (Waterloo, IA)
Des Moines Register (Des Moines, IA)
Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Hawk Eye (Burlington, IA)
Iowa City Press-Citizen (Iowa City, IA)
Mount Pleasant News (Mount Pleasant, IA)
Oelwein Daily Register (Oelwein, IA)
Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA)
Tribune (Ames, IA)
Valley News Today (Shenandoah, IA)

KANSAS

Clay Center Dispatch (Clay Center, KS)
Colby Free Press (Colby, KS)
Columbus Daily Advocate (Columbus, KS)
Concordia Blade-Empire (Concordia, KS)
Council Grove Republican (Council Grove, KS)
Lyons Daily News (Lyons, KS)
McPherson Sentinel (McPherson, KS)
Salina Journal (Salina, KS)
Wichita Eagle (Wichita, KS)

KENTUCKY

Corbin Times-Tribune (Corbin, KY)
Harlan Daily Enterprise (Harlan, KY)
Kentucky New Era (Hopkinsville, KY)
Ledger Independent (Maysville, KY)
Louisville Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
State Journal (Frankfort, KY)

LOUISIANA

Daily Iberian (New Iberia, LA)
Daily Review (Morgan city, LA)
Daily World (Opelousas, LA)
Franklin Banner-Tribune (Jennings, LA)
Natchitoches Times (Natchitoches, LA)
New Orleans Times Picayune (New Orleans, LA) - began in July 2003
    - Published their first same-sex, legal marriage notice, on July 21, 2003:
      Jon H. Graham and Timothy O. Montz married in Toronto, Ontario, on July 8, 2003.
      They had been together for 25 years prior to their legal marriage.
Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)

MAINE

Bangor Daily News (Bangor, ME)
Journal Tribune (Biddeford, ME)
Kennebec Journal (Augusta, ME)
Morning Sentinel (Waterville, ME)
Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME)
Sun Journal (Lewiston, ME)
Times Record (Brunswick, ME)

MARYLAND

Baltimore Sun (MD) - began in 1999
    - Allows paid announcements in its Friday “celebrations” section. On August 10, 2003,
      the Sun ran a paid “lifetime commitment ceremony” of Ingrid Ankerson and Megan Sapnar,
      but on a classified ad page, not where other paid celebratory notices appear.
Cecil Whig (Elkton, MD)
Daily Banner (Cambridge, MD)
Daily Times (Salisbury, MD)
Star Democrat (Easton, MD)
Sun (Baltimore, MD)

MASSACHUSETTS

As this state offers legal marriage, all Massachusetts newspapers should offer announcements
for those legal marriages. Further, because those marriages are legal, couples should be able to
announced them in their home papers, if the couples are from another state.

Athol Daily News (Athol, MA)
Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, MA)
Bolton Common (Bolton, MA)
Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
Boston Herald (Boston, MA)
Cambridge Chronicle (Cambridge, MA)
Cape Cod Times (Hyannis, MA)
Cape Codder (Orleans, MA)
Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA)
Daily Item (Lynn, MA)
Daily News (Newburyport, MA)
Enterprise (Brockton, MA)
Gloucester Daily Times (Gloucester, MA)
Greenfield Recorder (Greenfield, MA)
Herald News (Fall River, MA)
Melrose Free Press (Melrose, MA)
MetroWest Daily News (Framingham, MA)
Northampton Gazette (Northampton, MA)
Patriot-Ledger (Quincy, MA)
Provincetown Banner (Provincetown, MA)
Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg, MA)
Standard-Times (New Bedford, MA)
Sun (Lowell, MA)
Sun Chronicle (Attleboro, MA)
Taunton Daily Gazette (Taunton, MA)
Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA)
Westfield Evening News (Westfield, MA)

MICHIGAN

Ann Arbor News (Ann Arbor, MI)
Battle Creek Enquirer (Battle Creek, MI)
Cheboygan Tribune (Cheboygan, MI)
Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, MI)
Daily News (Iron Mountain, MI)
Detroit Jewish News (Southfield, MI) - began in September 2004
    - Engagement, union, anniversary and birth announcements for same-sex couples. The News
      received only three announcements from same-sex couples in four years. The first, in
      1998, set the discussion in motion to offer listings.
Detroit News (Detroit, MI)
Flint Journal (Flint, MI)
Kalamazoo Gazette (Kalamazoo, MI)
Lansing State Journal (Lansing, MI)
Livingston County Daily Press (Howell, MI)
Manistee News-Advocate (Manistee, MI)
Oakland Press (Oakland, MI)
Petoskey News-Review (Petoskey, MI)
Pioneer (Big Rapids, MI)
Saginaw News (Saginaw, MI)
Sturgis Journal (Sturgis, MI)
Times Herald (Port Huron, MI)

MINNESOTA

Albert Lea Tribune (Albert Lea, MN)
Duluth News Tribune (Duluth, MN)
Minneapolis Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
St. Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MN)
Stillwater Gazette (Stillwater, MN)

MISSOURI

Columbia Daily Tribune (Columbia, MO)
Columbia Missourian (Columbia, MO)
Daily Dunkin Democrat (Kennett, MO)
Daily Guide (St. Robert, MO)
Daily Journal (Park Hills, MO)
Examiner (Independence, MO)
Jewish Light (St. Louis, MO)
Lebanon Daily Record (Lebanon, MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, MO)
Sedalia Democrat (Sedalia, MO)

MONTANA

Missoluian (Missoula, MT)

NEBRASKA

Alliance Times-Herald (Alliance, NE)
Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE)
McCook Daily Gazette (McCook, NE)
Omaha World Herald (Omaha, NE)
   - Will only publish announcements for “legal weddings” and anniversaries of “a legal marriage.”
     Nebraska does not recognize same-sex marriages, but neighboring Iowa does.
     They will not publish announcements for commitment ceremonies of any sort, regardless of gender.

NEVADA

Humboldt Sun (Winnemucca, NV)
Reno Gazette Journal (Reno, NV)

NEW HAMPSHIRE

As this state offers legal marriage, all New Hampshire newspapers should offer announcements
for those legal marriages. Further, because those marriages are legal, couples should be able to
announced them in their home papers, if the couples are from another state.

Berlin Daily Sun (Berlin, NH)
Concord Monitor (Concord, NH)
Conway Daily Sun (North Conway, NH)
Foster’s Daily Democrat (Dover, NH)
Keene Sentinel (Keene, NH)
Monadnock Ledger (Peterborough, NH)
Telegraph (Hudson, NH)
Valley News (West Lebanon, NH)

NEW JERSEY

Asbury Park Press (Neptune, NJ)
Courier-News (Bridgewater, NJ)
Daily Journal (Vineland, NJ)
Home News Tribune (East Brunswick, NJ)
Jersey Journal (Jersey City, NJ)
Ocean County Observer (Toms River, NJ)
Press of Atlantic City (Pleasantville, NJ)
Record (Hackensack, NJ)
Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ)
Trentonian (Trenton, NJ)

NEW MEXICO

Clovis News-Journal (Clovis, NM)
Portales News-Tribune (Portales, NM)
Quay County Sun (Tucumcari, NM)

NEW YORK

Adirondack Enterprise (Saranac Lake, NY)
Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY)
Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY)
Corning Leader (Corning, NY)
Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY)
Daily Messenger (Canadaigua, NY)
Daily Sentinel (Utica, NY)
Democrat & Chronicle (Rochester, NY)
East Hampton Independent (East Hampton, NY)
East Hampton Star (East Hampton, NY)
Evening Sun (Norwich, NY)
Ithaca Journal (Ithaca, NY)
Leader-Herald (Gloversville, NY)
New York Observer (New York, NY)
New York Times (New York, NY)
Observer-Dispatch (Utica, NY)
Post-Journal (Jamestown, NY)
Press-Republican (Plattsburgh, NY)
Record (Troy, NY)
Saratogian (Saratoga, NY)
Staten Island Advance (Staten Island, NY)
Press & Sun-Bulletin (Vestal, NY)
Times Herald Record (Middletown, NY)
Times-Union (Albany, NY)
Watertown Daily Times (Watertown, NY)
Wellsville (Wellsville, NY)
Yonkers Tribune (Yonkers, NY)

NORTH CAROLINA

Asheville Citizen Times (Asheville, NC)
Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC)
Daily Advance (Ellizabeth City, NC)
Daily News (Jacksonville, NC)
Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, NC)
Free Press (Kinston, NC)
Gaston Gazette (Gastonia, NC)
Havelock News (Havelock, NC)
Hickory News (Hickory, NC)
News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
Shelby Star (Shelby, NC)
Sun Journal (New Bern, NC)
Times-News (Burlington, NC)
Winston Salem Journal (Winston, NC)

NORTH DAKOTA

Forum (Fargo, ND)
Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, ND)

OHIO

Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, OH)
Alliance Review (Alliance, OH)
Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH)
Cleveland Jewish News (OH) - began in 2000
Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, OH)
Lima News (Lima, OH)
Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH)
Port Clinton News Herald (Port Clinton, OH)
Record-Courier (Ravenna, OH)
Record-Herald (Wash. Court House, OH)
Sentinel-Tribune (Bowling Green, OH)

OKLAHOMA

Norman Transcript (Norman, OK)

OREGON

Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, OR)
Argus Observer (Ontario, OR)
Ashland Daily Tidings (Ashland, OR)
Beaverton Valley Times (Beaverton, OR)
Community Newspapers (Portland, OR)
Oregonian (Portland, OR)
Statesman Journal (Salem, OR)
Tigard Times (Tigard, OR)
Tualatin Times (Tualatin, OR)
Willamette Week (Portland, OR)

PENNSYLVANIA

Beaver County Times (Beaver, PA)
Bucks County Courier Times (Levittown, PA)
Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)
Courier-Express (DuBois, PA)
Daily Courier (Connellsville, PA)
Daily News (Lebanon, PA)
Daily Press (Saint Marys, PA)
Danville News (Danville, PA)
Delaware County Daily Times (Primos, PA)
Derrick (Oil City, PA)
Ellwood City Ledger (Ellwood City, PA)
Express (Lock Haven, PA)
Express-Times (Easton, PA)
Herald (Sharon, PA)
Intelligencer (Doylestown, PA)
Meadville Tribune (Meadville, PA)
News-Herald (Oil City, PA)
Observer-Reporter (Washington, PA)
Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA)
Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA)
Phoenix (Phoenixville, PA)
Pittsburgh Post Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA)
Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, PA)
Press-Enterprise (Bloomsburg, PA)
Reporter (Lansdale, PA)
Sentinel (Carlisle, PA)
Times News (Lehighton, PA)
Valley News Dispatch (Tarentum, PA)
Warren Times Observer (Warren, PA)
Wayne Independent (Honesdale, PA)
York Daily Record (York, PA)
York Dispatch (York, PA)

RHODE ISLAND

Kent County Daily Times (West Warwick, RI)
Newport Daily News (Newport, RI)
Providence Journal (Providence, RI)
Warwick Beacon (Warwick, RI)
Westerly Sun (Westerly, RI)

SOUTH CAROLINA

Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC)

SOUTH DAKOTA

Huron Plainsman (Huron, SD)

TENNESSEE

Johnson City Press (Johnson City, TN)
Kingsport Times-News (Kingsport, TN)
Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville, TN)
Nashville Tennessean (Nashville, TN)

TEXAS

Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, TX)
Athens Daily Review (Athens, TX)
Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX)
Brownsville Herald [Freedom Communications Inc.] (Brownsville, TX)
Corpus Christi Caller-Times (Corpus Christi, TX)
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX) - began in July 2003
Del Rio News-Herald (Del Rio, TX)
Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, TX)
Diario de Juarez (El Paso, TX)
El Paso Times (El Paso, TX)
Ennis Daily News (Ennis, TX)
Focus Daily News (Desoto, TX)
Houston Chronicle (Houston, TX)
Huntsville Item (Huntsville, TX)
Jacksonville Daily Progress (Jacksonville, TX)
Korea Times-Houston (Houston, TX)
Laredo Morning Times (Laredo, TX)
McKinney Courier-Gazette (McKinney, TX)
Mid-Valley Town Crier (Weslaco, TX)
Monitor (McAllen, TX)
News Gram (Eagle Press, TX)
Noticias En Espanol (Laredo, TX)
Odessa American (Odessa, TX)
Paris News (Paris, TX)
Pecos Enterprise (Pecos, TX)
San Antonio Express News (San Antonio, TX)
San Marcos Daily Record (San Marcos, TX)
Seguin Gazette-Enterprise (Seguin, TX)
Taylor Press (Taylor, TX)
Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, TX)
Waxahachie Daily Light (Waxahachie, TX)

UTAH

Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City, UT)
Herald Journal (Logan, UT)
Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, UT)
Southern Utah News (Kanab, UT)

VERMONT

As this state offers legal marriage, all Vermont newspapers should offer announcements
for those legal marriages. Further, because those marriages are legal, couples should be able to
announced them in their home papers, if the couples are from another state.

Brattleboro Reformer (Brattleboro, VT)
Bennington Banner (Bennington, VT)
Burlington Free Press (Burlington, VT)
Caledonian-Record (Saint Johnsburg, VT)
Newport Daily Express (Newport, VT)
Rutland Herald (Rutland, VT)
St. Albans Messenger (Saint Albans, VT)
Times Argus (Barre, VT)

VIRGINIA

Falls Church News-Press (Falls Church, VA)
Hopewell News (Hopewell, VA)
News Leader (Staunton, VA)
Northern Virginia Daily (Strasburg, VA)
Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, VA)
Roanoke Times (Roanoke, VA)

WASHINGTON

Ballard News-Tribune (Seattle, WA)
Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, WA)
Chronicle (Centralia, WA)
Daily Record (Ellensburg, WA)
Eastside Journal (Bellevue, WA)
Everett Herald (Everett, WA) - began in November 1990
    - Likely the first mainstream newspaper to publish same-sex marriage notices, November 1990
Korea Times-Seattle (Seattle, WA)
News Tribune (Tacoma, WA)
Olympian (Olympia, WA)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, WA)
Seattle Times (Seattle, WA)
Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA)
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (Walla Wall, WA)
Wenatchee World (Wenatchee, WA)

WEST VIRGINIA

Charleston Daily Mail (Charleston, WV)
Charleston Gazette (Charleston, WV)
Inter-Mountian (Elkins, WV)
Logan Banner (Logan, WV)
Point Pleasant Register (Point Pleasant, WV)
West Virginia Daily News (Lewisburg, WV)

WISCONSIN

Appleton Post-Crescent (Appleton, WI)
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
Chippewa Herald (Chippewa Falls, WI)
Daily News (West Bend, WI)
Daily Press (Ashland, WI)
Daily Telegram (Superior, WI)
Daily Tribune (Wisconsin Rapids, WI)
Eagle Herald (Marinette, WI)
Green Bay News-Chronicle (Green Bay, WI)
Journal Times (Racine, WI)
Kenosha News (Kenosha, WI)
Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, WI)
Marshfield News-Herald (Marshfield, WI)
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI)
Oshkosh Northwestern (Oshkosh, WI)
Press-Gazette (Green Bay, WI)
Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan, WI)
Stevens Point Journal (Stevens Point, WI)
Wausau Daily Herald (Wausau, WI)
Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI)

WYOMING

Casper Star-Tribune (Casper, WY)
Daily Rocket Miner (Rock Springs, WY)
Laramie Boomerang (Laramie, WY)
Sheridan Press (Sheridan, WY)
Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, WY)
Note: Freedom Communications Inc., corporate head of 35 newspapers in 11 states, offers announcements.
Our thanks for contributions to this list from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Human Rights Campaign.



Governments that offer Full Legal Marriage
Nations

        Netherlands (2001)
        Belgium (2003)
        Canada (2005)
        Spain (2005)
        South Africa (2005)
        Norway (2009)
        Sweden (2009)
        Mexico City (Mexico) (2009)
        Iceland (2010)
        Argentina (2010)
        Portugal (2010)
        France (2013)
        New Zealand (2013)
US States and Territories

        Massachusetts (2004)
        California offered then banned; case pending (2008/?)
        Connecticut (2008)
        Iowa (2009)
        Vermont (2009)
        New Hampshire (2009)
        District of Columbia (2009)
        New York (2011)
        Maine (2012)
        Washington (2012)
        Maryland (2013)
        Rhode Island (2013)
        Delaware (2013)
        Minnesota (2013)
Native American Tribes

        Coquille Tribe in OR (2008)
        Suquamish Tribe in WA (2011)
        Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in MI (2013)

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