A call for gays to boycott heterosexual weddings

This story was originally covered by PRI’s Here and Now. For more, listen to the audio above.

In a New York Times Op-Ed piece entitled, “Not Going To The Chapel,” writer Rich Benjamin calls on the gay community to boycott heterosexual weddings until same-sex marriages are nationally recognized.

It’s “utterly absurd to celebrate an institution that I am banned from in most of the country,” he wrote, referring to the wedding of a close friend that he did not attend. “It’s less activism than common sense,” he added. “Why should I financially subsidize and emotionally invest in a ritual that excludes me in all but five states (and the District of Columbia)?”

Benjamin says that he’s not a gay activist but this was a personal stand he had to make. He has been both hailed as courageous and attacked for alienating those who would support gay marriage.

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