Rural Texas newspaper publisher deletes reference to same-sex partner in obituary for religious reasons - Entrepreneur Generations

Olton, Texas (Wikipedia map)

A rural Texas newspaper is under fire after the publisher omitted a man's husband from an obituary because of religious convictions, Fox 4 News in Dallas reports.

Barry Giles and John Gambill have been together for 31 years, and both had a close relationship with Giles' mother Brenda Light. When Light passed away in February, the Dallas couple bought an obituary in her hometown paper, the Olton Enterprise. The submitted obit said "Those left to cherish her memory include her son, Barry Giles and his husband, John Gambill of Dallas." But when the obit came out, Gambill wasn't in the text, Fox 4 News reports.

When Gambill called newspaper publisher Phillip Hamilton and asked why his name had been left out, Hamilton reportedly said only "Because I wanted to." Hamilton is also a Baptist pastor, and though he declined an interview with Fox 4 News, he said in a statement: "It is my religious conviction that a male cannot have a husband. It is also my belief that to publish anything contrary to God's Word on this issue would be to publish something in the newspaper that is not true."

The statement went on to say: "the newspaper respects the first amendment rights of those who express such opinions. The newspaper’s decision to edit the obituary is both ethical and lawful. It would be unethical to publish a news item that is known by the editor to be false. Based on the truth found in the Word of God, I could not in good conscience identify Mr. Gambill as the husband of Mr. Giles," Fox 4 News reports.

The couple is considering legal action, but an appellate attorney not involved with the case told Fox 4 News he thinks Hamilton has a stronger legal footing: "A newspaper cannot knowingly or recklessly publish false information," said Chad Ruback. "Other than that, the first amendment grants the newspaper extremely broad rights in deciding what information to publish and what information not to publish."

from The Rural Blog http://bit.ly/2KS15L0 Rural Texas newspaper publisher deletes reference to same-sex partner in obituary for religious reasons - Entrepreneur Generations

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