'Dear Abby' comes out in support of gay marriage

[LynneSin]

http://www.newsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/LIFE/710100325/1005/LIFE

Abby backs same-sex marriage
Advocacy group to honor columnist
By LISA LEFF, Associated Press
Posted Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Jeanne Phillips, whose mother was the first Dear Abby, advises parents to accept and love their gay children.
AP/DAMIAN DOVARGANES

SAN FRANCISCO -- For years, rumblings have surfaced on the Internet, conjecture about her casual references to "sexual orientation" and "respect."

Now, Dear Abby is ready to say it flatly: She supports same-sex marriage.

"I believe if two people want to commit to each other, God bless 'em," the syndicated advice columnist told the Associated Press. "That is the highest form of commitment, for heaven's sake."

What Jeanne Phillips, aka Abigail Van Buren, finds offensive and misguided are homophobic jokes, phrases like "That's so gay," and parents who reject or try to reform their children when they come out of the closet.