In January 2011, Change.org first brought you the story of Mark Reed-Walkup and Dante Walkup, a Dallas couple who was legally married in Washington, D.C., yet couldn’t get their marriage announcement printed in the Dallas Morning News’ “Weddings” section. The Dallas Morning News told Mark and Dante that same-sex couples weren’t welcome in the “Weddings” section, and that because Texas state law banned same-sex marriage, the paper was justified in omitting same-sex couples from its pages.
Mark and Dante wouldn’t take no for an answer. In sharing their story with Change.org, Mark and Dante urged Change.org members to put pressure on the Dallas Morning News, and demand the paper get rid of this discriminatory and anti-equality policy.
After months of pressure from nearly 15,000 Change.org members, groups including GetEqual, as well as the persistent work of Mark and Dante – who even filed an anti-discrimination complaint against the Dallas Morning News – the paper has announced that they are changing their policy and will print same-sex wedding announcements in their “Weddings” section. Publisher James Moroney said that “it’s the right thing to do,” and that the decision will be effective July 10, 2011.