Brad Blakemore, Publisher
In the July 26 issue of the Van Zandt News we published a story on the front page of the paper titled “Officially Dunn.” The story was on the first same-sex marriage in Van Zandt County since the Supreme Court’s June 26 ruling granting same-sex couples the right to legally wed.
As a result of the story, we have received both positive and negative feedback from our readers. Some thanking us for running the story and congratulating the two men who were married by JP Herbert Dunn in Wills Point. We have also had a handful of negative reactions from our readers questioning our decision to run the story at all and asking why we felt it deserved front page coverage.
Was the first same-sex marriage news in Van Zandt County? Yes. Does everyone have their own opinion on the subject? Of course.
Whether you agree or disagree with the subject matter, same-sex marriage has been a topic of debate in our country for many years. Our story wasn’t just about the two men who were married. The law said they could get married, an official in Van Zandt County agreed to marry them and we made a decision to run their story. This was also an opportunity for our readers to hear from county officials and their decisions whether to marry same-sex couples.
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