The first mainstream newspaper to publish an announcement about a same-sex commitment ceremony was Washington state's Everett Herald in 1990. The following year the Minneapolis Star-Tribune became the first major paper to do so. Then eleven years later, on Sept. 1, 2002, the New York Times ran its first such announcement in Sunday's vaunted "Weddings & Celebrations" section. Since many consider the Times the nation's newspaper of record, its decision received considerable attention. The happy couple whose commitment ceremony was announced was Daniel Gross and Steven Goldstein.
Between 2002 and 2008 the number of papers accepting same-sex wedding/commitment announcements increased tenfold to more than 1,000. However a study by GLAAD found that only one-third of those papers had actually received submissions. The study was done in 2008 so the figure may now be closer to 40%. Nonetheless, it suggests that not every same-sex couple getting hitched wants to make a public announcement.
In the meantime, now that same-sex marriage is legal in New York state, perhaps Daniel and Steven are planning a wedding ceremony here (assuming they're still together, of course).
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