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'Dear Abby' Backs Gay Marriage

Rights group to honor columnist's accepting 'mainstream voice'

By Asta Hostetter, Newser User

Posted Oct 10, 2007 8:32 AM CDT

(Newser) – 'Dear Abby' takes a simple stance on gay marriage: "I believe if two people want to commit to each other, God bless 'em." Over the years Jeanne Phillips, aka Abigail Van Buren, has consistently urged support for gay family members in her nationally syndicated column. Now she's being honored by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays for using her “mainstream voice” to advocate for gay civil rights.

Abby, who's receiving the group's "Straight for Equality award" this week, said she's not worried that aligning herself with gay rights advocates will hurt her column. It must be a generational thing. The original Abby, Phillips’ mother, brought PFLAG national recognition when she referred a distressed parent to the organization in 1984.

Author Jeane Phillips, the daughter of the original advice columnist Dear Abby poses for a photo in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 5, 2007. Dear Abby is publicly declaring her support for same-sex marriage... (Associated Press)

Dear Abby advisor Jeanne Phillips will take over the column from her mother. (KRT Photos)

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'Dear Abby' Backs Gay Marriage

Rights group to honor columnist's accepting 'mainstream voice'

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