Gay Couple in Northwest AR Denied Newspaper Announcement
By: KNWA-TV, Fayetteville
Updated: January 23, 2012
A gay couple planning to get married in Northwest Arkansas says they were denied the chance to
announce their engagement in the local newspaper.
Now that they are getting ready to tie the know, Cody Renegar and his partner Thomas, wanted to share their news with friends and family.
But Thomas says when he called the Northwest Arkansas Times to get some information about submitting the announcement, he was told the paper wouldn't be able to publish it.
According to Thomas, the Times told him it ony runs announcements for weddings that will be legally recognized by the State of Arkansas.
The newspaper's publisher says it's the paper's policy, and has been for a long time, but Cody feels it's unfair.
"You want to scream it from the mountain, but this is kind of your way of screaming it from the top
of the mountain that we've found somebody and we are committed for the rest of our lives and we've been denied that," Cody says. "It's not that complicated for them to put a picture of two people in love."
While he's disappointed by the paper's stand on the issue, Cody says he's not giving up and will
continue to fight this.
The Northwest Arkansas Center for Equality released a statement on the matter today, asking the
newspaper to reconsider its policy on not publishing wedding announcements of same-sex couples.
announce their engagement in the local newspaper.
Now that they are getting ready to tie the know, Cody Renegar and his partner Thomas, wanted to share their news with friends and family.
But Thomas says when he called the Northwest Arkansas Times to get some information about submitting the announcement, he was told the paper wouldn't be able to publish it.
According to Thomas, the Times told him it ony runs announcements for weddings that will be legally recognized by the State of Arkansas.
The newspaper's publisher says it's the paper's policy, and has been for a long time, but Cody feels it's unfair.
"You want to scream it from the mountain, but this is kind of your way of screaming it from the top
of the mountain that we've found somebody and we are committed for the rest of our lives and we've been denied that," Cody says. "It's not that complicated for them to put a picture of two people in love."
While he's disappointed by the paper's stand on the issue, Cody says he's not giving up and will
continue to fight this.
The Northwest Arkansas Center for Equality released a statement on the matter today, asking the
newspaper to reconsider its policy on not publishing wedding announcements of same-sex couples.
