Dear Abby supports gay marriage, and PFLAG supports her right back

Here's a nice bit of warm-and-fuzzy to start the day: It seems that Jeanne Phillips, aka Abagail Van Buren of the famed "Dear Abby", is being honored by PFLAG for her contributions to gay visibility and building allies in her mainstream (and mostly straight) readership. In her comments regarding the honor, Phillips (who took over the column from her mother after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's five years ago) also came out firmly in favor of gay marriage, noting:

"I believe if two people want to commit to each other, God bless 'em ... That is the highest form of commitment, for heaven's sake ... If gay Americans are not allowed to get married and have all the benefits that American citizens are entitled to by the Bill of Rights, they should get one hell of a tax break. That is my opinion."

Amen to that! While Abby will likely never write a column devoted to gay issues or laying out her gay-friendly stance, Phillips has long supported PFLAG (something her mother began doing in 1984 in her advice) and sends a message of acceptance and respect toward LGBT folks, something she has no intentions of changing:

"If they are my readers, they know how I feel on the subject," she said. "I don't think I'm a flaming radical. I'm for civility in life. I'm for treating each other with respect, trying to do the best you can."

Given Abby's reach (the column is syndicated in over 1400 newspapers) and the rather folksy, old-fashioned appeal of the column to who might be considered more conservative readers, it's great to hear Phillips' commitment to marriage equality and to see her speak plainly on the subject of her support. Now maybe she should have a talk with Mary Worth, because I have a feeling that she has something big to get off her chest about that rascally choreographer Bobbie ...