Hey everyone out in the blogosphere! I am Dan Gilson and I'm currently a journalism major in Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. I am creating a blog dedicated to exploring the issues and controversy surrounding same-sex marriage for a class titled Journalism 331: Reporting on Contemporary Issues. I feel this topic is important in the realm of reporting because it is one of the most debated contemporary issues within the United States. With seven countries already legalizing the practice and over two-dozen countries offering similar marriage benefits to same-sex couples, the issue has gained global awareness and national media attention.

Since this topic is extremely broad, I have thought of some story ideas to work with throughout the course of this quarter. One idea would be to explore the effect of recent anti-LGBT legislation (Amendment 1, 2004) passed in the state of Ohio on the LGBT community here in Athens. To execute this idea, I plan to interview students and prominent members in the LGBT community as well as research legislation relating to same-sex marriage. Another idea I want to explore during the quarter would be the relation between the LGBT community and religion, researching whether religious institutions would be willing to marry same-sex couples if the practice is ever legalized through interviewing both LGBT members and local religious institutions. Finally, a third idea I was thinking about exploring would be the economic benefits marriage would provide same-sex couples. To explore this idea, I would interview members of the LGBT community as well as research legislation pertaining to current opposite-sex marriage benefits.