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Lesbian couple sues Oregonian for refusing to print
their wedding announcement
^Picture This’
FRAMING GALLERY
by Inga Sorensen
hy is this so important to you?” a
reporter asked Sandra Linebarier,
who is scheduled to wed her part­
ner of two years, Charlene Morris,
this month.
The question was prompted by a lawsuit brought
by the couple against The Oregonian, which refuses
to publish their wedding announcement.
“Why is it so important to heterosexuals?” re­
sponded Linebarier. “This is the happiest time of my
life and I want to share my joy with the community.”
As we reported in our July 19 issue, the lawsuit,
which was filed July 17 in Multnomah County Dis­
trict Court, charges the newspaper with violating city
and state laws that prohibit discrimination in public
accommodations.
Linebarier, 45, and Morris,
44, of Southeast Portland, say
they contacted The Oregonian
early in July to arrange for the
publication of their wedding an­
nouncement in the paper’s “Wed­
dings” section.
When the women informed
The Oregonian that they were a
same-sex couple, they were told
that the paper only publishes “le­
gal marriages,” i.e., heterosexual
weddings,
Linebarier and Morris sent a
letter to The Oregonian— prior to
the filing of the lawsuit—request­
ing the newspaper voluntarily end
its discriminatory policy.
The newspaper not only re­
fused, they say, it went so far as to threaten sanctions
against the couple if they pursued legal action.
“There is this misperception that gay people don’t
have long-lasting, permanent and valid relationships.
That simply isn’t true. I had hoped The Oregonian
would have recognized this and made this service
available to the entire community, not just hetero­
sexuals,” said Linebarier.
Despite The Oregonian's threat, the couple sued,
and on July 26, Joe D. Bailey, a Multnomah County
circuit judge pro-tem heard testimony in the case.
“I felt a little dirty,” testified Linebarier, when
asked to describe how she felt when Oregonian
representatives told her they would not publish her
announcement.
“They made me feel like I was doing something
illegal or sneaky or bad,” Linebarier said, fighting
tears.
She talked about her uplifting experience shop­
ping for gold bands and making arrangements for the
wedding, which will be held in a Portland public park.
(The couple is being charged the wedding rate by
the city. Linebarier says the city views the ceremony
as a wedding, regardless of the couple’s sexual orien­
tation.)
Dr. Mary Ann Humphrey, an educator and author,
testified about her 1992 wedding to her partner of
nearly a decade. The ceremony was officiated by a
religious authority from the United Church of Christ
in Wilsonville.
Humphrey testified that she had filled out the
proper Oregonian paperwork, and “personally deliv­
ered [the couple’s wedding photo] so it wouldn’t get
lost.”
Several weeks passed and still there was no sign
of the announcement. Humphrey says she contacted
The Oregonian to inquire about the delay and was
instead instructed to pick up her materials, which she
was told would not be published because hers was a
same-sex wedding.
Tigard resident Penny Liebertz, a 72-year-old
W
mw
mother of eight, also testified about her experience
with The Oregonian, which had published her straight
children’s wedding notices, but refused to do the
same for her gay son, Jim.
While The Oregonian refused to run the Liebertz-
Marcial announcement, the mainstream weekly
newspaper,Tigard Times, did.
Portland attorney Charles Hinkle, who represents
The Oregonian, argued that wedding announcements
are considered news and thus constitutionally pro­
tected as free speech.
Oregonian editor Sandra Mims Rowe, the
defendant’s sole witness, stated the newspaper only
printed state-recognized marriages.
The exclusion of same-sex couples from the “Wed­
dings” section wasn’t the only Oregonian practice
questioned during the hearing.
Jocelyn Somers, an attorney
with the federal government, tes­
tified that she and her partner of
many years, Kathleen
MacNaughton, a real estate agent,
had hoped to publicly celebrate
the 1993 birth of their son.
Like other proud mothers,
Somers filled out the paperwork
that is circulated among parents
after the births of their babies.
“When it appeared in The Orego­
nian, Kathleen’s name had been
removed,” Somers testified, add-
y jng ]eft the impression that
a Somers was a single parent, which
was not accurate.
Somers says she called The
Oregonian to inquire about the omission and was told
by staffer Jerry Boone the newspaper didn’t print
information about same-sex couples.
“I asked him whether they would have printed the
information in full if it had included a man’s name. He
said yes. 1 then asked whether they would have
bothered to check to see if that information were
factual. He told me no, and said The Oregonian would
automatically print the information if it included a
man’s name. I said to him, ‘So I could have written
down that the father was Jerry Boone or Donald Duck
and you would have printed it?’ He said ‘Yes.’”
According to Somers, the Beaverton Valley Times,
a mainstream weekly newspaper, published the birth
announcement intact.
The plaintiffs attorney. Renée Jacobs, says
Somers’ experience destroys The Oregonian's “ex­
planation” that it doesn’t print same-sex wedding
announcements based solely on legal definitions,
particularly because same-sex couples can adopt
each other’s children in Oregon.
“The Oregonian's decisions are obviously prompted
by the subject’s sexual orientation rather than the
content of the submitted announcement, which is
virtually identical to the thousands of others submitted
by opposite-sex couples,” Jacobs says. “The newspa­
per is discriminating based on who is submitting the
information. The First Amendment doesn’t offer pro­
tection for that kind of discrimination.”
We attempted to interview Rowe immediately
after the hearing. She told us she could not comment
on a pending case.
The following day—in The Oregonian—Rowe is
quoted as saying her paper does not discriminate
against gay men and lesbians.
The piece did not include comment from the plain­
tiffs, nor did it specify which laws the plaintiffs alleged
had been violated. It did not mention the several
witnesses who testified on behalf of the plaintiffs.
Judge Bailey, meanwhile, says he will issue an
opinion on the case by Aug. 5.
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