WE DON’T STAY WHERE WE’RE NOT WELCOME: WHY MY BLOG NO LONGER CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE OF THE PALM SPRINGS DESERT SUN

As many of my readers are aware, I have historically published posts to the Cathedral City Observed blog in two places.  One is on my Blogspot blog, (www.cathedralcityobserved.blogspot.com,) and the other was at the website of the Desert Sun (mydesert.com). As of today, that has changed; my blog will no longer be posted on the Desert Sun’s website.

Yesterday, I wrote a post concerning my very real issues with the so-called Marriage Vow that an Iowa culture war group has asked GOP presidential hopefuls to sign.  To date, the pledge has been signed by Michelle Bachmann and Rick Santorum.

I made no bones about the extent to which, as a gay man, I was and am offended by the tissue of homophobia, misogyny, and untruth the so-called Marriage Vow represents.

The Desert Sun, which has historically been a right-leaning newspaper, apparently considered my blog post to be more progressive than it was prepared to allow on its website, and pulled/deleted it.  Not once, but twice.

That’s their privilege.  A newspaper website is not a First Amendment forum; I cannot claim that my constitutional rights have been violated.

It is my privilege, however, to choose to take my business elsewhere, and that’s what I have done.  I have deleted all entries from the The Desert Sun's website, and have announced that my blog will no longer publish there.  

Those of you who have been following my blog posts at mydesert.com will find the same content here on my Blogspot site, and you can follow me on Facebook, where you can also link to the Cathedral City Observed blog.

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Paul S. Marchand is an attorney who lives and works in Cathedral City.  He does not do business with The Desert Sun.  The views expressed herein are his own.