Gay Couple Isn’t Extraordinary
I could’ve told them that from the beginning, but with an area like this they have to see that a homosexual couple is pretty much the same as a heterosexual couple. Well, except for the whole opposite sex partner thing… 
They dressed like everyone else, they marched like everyone else, they were applauded like everyone else, and they were a couple like everyone else. Attendance of the grand march wasn’t any more or less than it has been previously. It was normal. That seems to have bugged a few people here… gays… normal… that just doesn’t make sense?!? How can that be? Well people of NE Minnesota and Eastern ND it is true, gays are here and we’re just like you. There were a few letters to the editor that were “those are not my values” and “I’ve canceled my subscription”, and then the one (from a guy I know) that was a thank you to the Forum for printing it at all.
If anything about this is extraordinary it is the fact that visibility is still an issue. On the Forum’s forum on this story there were a few people, typically from the coasts, that were “is this really a news event, it’s normal out here”. Well of course it is an event here, you’re from a more liberal area and we’re in a more conservative area. I, myself, would not hold my boyfriend’s hand (if I had one…) at West Acres – I don’t feel its something I can do and keep a complete sense of safety. Again I want to applaude and thank The Forum for bringing this ‘front and center’ and also the couple for being visible in our community. It is something I don’t think I could do myself. Thanks… Later
(click on more for the ‘follow up’ article from Sundays paper)
Same-sex couple makes prom entrance
Andrea Domaskin
The Forum – 04/22/2007
Steven Goering and Jakob Paper stand in line with other prom couples as they wait for the Grand March to start at the Fargo South prom Saturday night at the Fargo Civic Center Memorial Auditorium. Photo by Dave Wallis / The Forum
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They arrived an hour later than planned, but the prom entrance of Jakob Paper and Steven Goering on Saturday went smoothly.
The young men’s decision to go to Fargo South High School’s prom as a couple spurred debate over whether they should have been allowed in the Grand March and whether their story deserved to be on the front page of The Forum.
But as they stood in line for their grand entrance at the Fargo Civic Center, Paper said their prom experience had so far been uneventful.
“It’s been really quiet,” he said. “I went to work and then we pretty much got ready.”
Paper, an 18-year-old senior at South, wore flip-flops and a dark suit. His date, 18-year-old Steven Goering, wore a green shirt under his suit.
As their names were announced, Paper and Goering walked together into the Civic Auditorium. The audience cheered, as it had for the other dozen or so couples who walked in before them.
Principal Todd Bertsch said that at last count, the school had sold 447 tickets for both couples and singles. So far, it had been a typical prom night.
“As far as I can tell, this one appears no different than others,” Bertsch said.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Andrea Domaskin at (701) 241-5556
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Thanks Joe,
Great blog…enjoyed reading it!
We are a gay couple from NE Minnesota.
Indeed, gays are here and we’re just like you.
Please add us to your blog.
Steve and Warren