Show other side in same-sex union issue

I’d like to respond to the “Married with the eyes of God” front-page article by Christopher Placek in the Jan. 19 Daily Herald.

The article is well-written and does mention in passing churches or denominations that object to performing same-sex weddings. The assumption is that the reader already knows why a church or denomination would not perform a same-sex wedding. I’m not sure that’s always obvious, especially in our pluralistic culture.

As an old journalist, I would suggest an article that looks at the issues from a different perspective. The subhead says, “As gay couple plan, search on for welcoming church.” The implication is that all churches who deny a homosexual couple to marry are non-welcoming. All churches? A common phrase of the day is “marriage equality.” What does that mean, and why would a conservative denomination object? How does a denomination that performs only heterosexual weddings object to the use of the word equality in this definition of it? Is “discrimination” the appropriate word to use for those on the other side of this issue?

Evangelist Billy Graham has long been on the list of most admired people. But if he doesn’t believe in homosexual marriage, does that make him a bigot or worse?

Dig deep to show the other side, and make it a front-page story as well. Don’t assume your readers know both sides. Provide a list of denominations that don’t perform same-sex marriage, just as you gave a list of those that do. Ask a variety of pastors why they object to same-sex marriage, and how they would define marriage. Our culture may have changed some on this issue, but there are still plenty of people on the conservative side of believing in traditional marriage, and that should be the focus of your story.

Brad Davis

Carol Stream