Thursday, February 09, 2012

NYT, SF Chron:
Same Gay Marriage Letter in Today's Papers


Once upon a time in journalism, it was standard practice at major American dailies to ask anyone whose letter was to appear in print if they had submitted their letter to other publications. That is no longer the case with the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Both published basically the same letter from gay multimillionaire David Bohnett, pictured, and on the same day. Okay, to be fair, maybe the papers asked Bohnett if he was trying to get his letter published elsewhere and he might have said no.

No matter how you slice it, two things are evident. The Times and the Chronicle need to beef up their screening process determining which letters make the cut and get precious mainstream news space. My guess is that the papers both were more inclined to run any letter from Bohnett, given his moneyed credentials and A-gay status.

Secondly, congratulations to Bohnett for getting the same letter in print in two major dailies on the same day! I'm curious to know if any version of his comments appeared in other dailies. If he sent it to two, he probably sent it to many more. 

From SF Chronicle today:

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday that Proposition 8 violates the constitutional rights of same-sex couples, and I applaud their decision.

Make no mistake: Prop. 8's defenders will continue to fight to make sure that fear and oppression win the war. They've already begun urging donors to double-down on the campaign to ensure the U.S. Supreme Court upholds Prop. 8. So, as our esteemed lieutenant governor has pointed out, our campaign now must progress with renewed pace and renewed vigor.

This is a turning point for California. Prop. 8 is upended, but it's not over yet. This ruling strengthens our resolve and unites us even more. Everyone who opposes Prop. 8 must demand their due process. Judge Vaughn Walker took a just and courageous stand for humanity and wrote a brilliant opinion. It's up to us to see this battle through and stand together for equality.

David Bohnett, Los Angeles

Here's the abbreviated version that appeared in the NY Times this morning:

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said Tuesday that Proposition 8 violates the constitutional rights of same-sex couples, and I applaud its decision.

Make no mistake: Proposition 8’s defenders will continue to fight to make sure that fear and oppression win the war. They’ve already begun urging donors to step up the campaign to ensure that the Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8.

This is a turning point for California. Proposition 8 is upended, but it’s not over yet. It’s up to those of us who oppose Proposition 8 to see this battle through and stand together for equality.

DAVID C. BOHNETT
Los Angeles,
The writer is a philanthropist and social activist.

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