'Abby' to Be Honored Saturday for Her Support of the Gay Community

By: E&P Staff "Dear Abby" writer Jeanne Phillips will be recognized this Saturday in Washington, D.C., for her support of the gay community by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), according to Universal Press Syndicate.

PFLAG's convention runs from Oct. 11-14 -- during which time openly-gay Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson will also be honored.

The "Straight for Equality" award -- part of PFLAG's new campaign to engage more heterosexuals as allies -- is being given to Phillips for "views espousing tolerance, understanding, and acceptance" in the "Dear Abby" column distributed by Universal to about 1,400 newspapers.

Jeanne's mother Pauline, who founded "Dear Abby," helped promote PFLAG as a resource in 1984 when she first referred a distraught parent to the organization. Jeanne has continued to recommend the group, its affiliate for parents with children who identify as transgender, and a suicide hotline aimed at gay teenagers.

"I'm trying to tell kids if they are gay, it's OK to be gay. I've tried to tell families if they have a gay family member to accept them and love them as they always have," Phillips said in an Associated Press interview.

Phillips also supports same-sex marriage. "I believe if two people want to commit to each other, God bless 'em," she said. "That's the highest form of commitment, for heaven's sake. "