Oregon's largest paper to publish gay union notices

Oregon's largest newspaper, The Oregonian, announced Sunday that it will join the growing list of U.S. newspapers that publish same-sex commitment ceremony announcements.

In Oregon, several counties, including Ashland and Multnomah, have registries for gay, lesbian, and unmarried straight couples. The Oregonian said it would begin charging for wedding, engagement, birth, birthday, and anniversary announcements on a new "Celebrations" page.

Over the past three months, such newspapers as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Charlotte [N.C.] Observer, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch have made similar moves. The Columbus [Ohio] Dispatch announced last week that it too will open its wedding pages to gay couples.

More than 140 newspapers nationwide publish same-sex commitment ceremony announcements in some form, according to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.