Though made of ink on paper, not silver on glass, a fine newspaper ought to be a mirror of life in its community.
That is the reason The Inquirer has chosen to cover same-sex commitment ceremonies in the “InLove” column that Dianna Marder writes for the Sunday magazine.
Her July 15 column, featuring an exchange of vows between two men, Buddy Valerio and Chris Volker, prompted a flurry of responses from readers. Twenty-one messages offered heartfelt thanks for including gay men, while 13 said they were deeply offended for religious and moral reasons and accused the paper of pushing a liberal agenda.
It’s too early to say whether yesterday’s column, showing Laurie Barrows and Katie Somers in the sanctuary at the city’s Old First Reformed Church, committing to a life together, will prompt a similar response.
But I think it’s important to note two things: Our readers’ earlier response mirrors the divided national debate about same-sex commitments. And this newspaper’s only “agenda” is to provide coverage as diverse as the people who live in the Philadelphia region.
As I told those who called, it’s only fair for me to mention that I helped make the punch in this bowl. As features editor, I helped create the column — modeled after Vows in the New York Times — which Marder has championed and written since July 1999.
At the time, same-sex marriages were very much on the front burner. The state Supreme Court in Vermont had heard arguments that would lead it to grant the same benefits and protections given to heterosexual couples.
At The Inquirer, we decided the new column would strive for the broadest band of diversity — age, race, income, religion, geography, and yes, sexual orientation.
That is why it debuted as “Love Story” and not under a label that would restrict it to weddings. “Love Story” morphed into an equally loose-fitting “InLove” when it moved into the magazine in February.
In 96 columns so far, commitment ceremonies have made up a tiny share, only three. The first, between Trish McClellan and Nancy Groff in June 2000, drew very little response.
We continue to believe these ceremonies reflect what is going on around us.
An advocacy group, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, estimates that 9 percent of people who live in major urban areas are gay, lesbian or bisexual. David Elliot, the task force’s communications director, says the estimate is based on data about sexual preference that has been collected in exit polls from federal elections since 1990.
A more objective source, the 1990 federal Census, reported a total 8,325 same-sex partner households in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, though the figure is considered low. The 2000 Census figures for the two states, due to be released Wednesday, are expected to be higher, because more people feel comfortable identifying their relationships.
Getting people to open up about their relationships, even heterosexual ones, has been an ongoing challenge for Marder. “I look for couples that have a story to tell, and a willingness to tell it. Many people are very private,” she said.
Based on preliminary interviews with couples, she chooses which ceremonies to cover — selecting a month’s worth at a time so she can gauge the diversity of the mix.
In 16 years at the paper, Marder, 53, has written prize-winning investigative stories and covered courts and crime. In her current job, the love beat, she enjoys writing about ordinary people and “the magic that is romantic love.”
“The people featured are our readers, our neighbors,” she said. “They all share one thing — this yearning we all have for an intimate partnership.”
But our readers don’t share one view on same-sex relationships. Readers’ opinions, especially those based on religious convictions, must not be discounted. We must respect those who stand up for their beliefs. But what decides this issue for me is that a newspaper should not distort the image of its community by ignoring a segment of it.
