There's been a brouhaha on the Internet about the decision by the Associated Press to recognize same-sex couples and in news stories refer to a gay man's spouse as "husband" and a lesbian's spouse "wife."
Christian fundamentalist Marvin Olasky wrote that this action by the world's leading wire service was not being neutral but was "endorsing same-sex 'marriage.'"
"The Bible has a different understanding," Olasky wrote. "God created … human beings male and female that's a biblically objective fact. He created Adam and Eve and made their union 'marriage' that's biblically objective fact." Maybe. Maybe not. That's a matter of personal belief, not a public rule.
But in this country, we call people by what they want to be called. It's black, not Negro. It's first The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, not Mormon Church, because LDS officials ask it to be so. If a man calls his spouse "husband," what's it to you, especially if they're legally married? What else are you going to call him "wife"?
Christians don't have a copyright on the word "husband." What's in a name, anyway? A Christian by any other name could still be petty and mean-spirited.
Henry Denton
Charleston