OWH Bans Gay Marriage Announcements

Meet Marc Volenec and Peter Hamel...

They're your average everyday Nebraskans. They have jobs, they own a house, I'm sure they have hobbies, and, oh, they're a gay couple that got married in a San Diego courthouse on Sept. 23 and the Omaha World Herald refused to print their wedding announcement.

Why? Well an OWH spokesperson knew the answer (via "The Reader"):

“As a business decision, the Omaha World-Herald does not print same-sex marriage announcements.” company spokesperson Joel Long told The Reader. He said the company’s decision is not based on Nebraska’s law banning gay marriage or a specific corporate policy. “We decided we’re not going to do it.”

Let me be the first to say: WTF mate!?

The real reason the OWH didn't publish their wedding announcement is because they are run by conservative wingnuts trying to force their agenda down our throats. What makes this even worse is that Hamel is an 18-year employee of the Omaha World Herald. Now he has to go back to work everyday knowing his own employer doesn't think he's as good as a straight man. That's sick!

On the one hand, I get it: I live in a conservative state where a lot of people aren't ready to accept gay marriage. On the other hand, as Lincoln Journal Star cartoonist Neal Obermeyer reports, the Columbus Telegram, Fremont Tribune, Hastings Tribune, Lincoln Journal Star, North Platte Telegraph, Scottsbluff Star-Herald and the Sidney Sun-Telegraph all publish gay marriage announcements.

That's what makes this unacceptable. All seven of those papers are respectable institutions in this state. In fact, the Scottsbluff Star-Herald is actually owned by the Omaha World Herald which makes the "business decision" argument a little bit weaker.

This is why I'm officially boycotting the Omaha World Herald. I've canceled my daily subscription, I will never link to them again, and I've joined the official Boycott Facebook group. From now on I'll be getting my news from the Lincoln Journal Star -- a highly respected newspaper in Nebraska.

I hope you'll join me in my disgust.

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Let me give a shout out to Neal Obermeyer who brought this issue to my attention on his site Nealo.com. Here's the cartoon he published for the Reader on this issue:



The answer to your question is yes...

Neal Obermeyer is Nebraska's Keith Olbermann. :)