Ann Landers Biography
- Title:
- Late Advice Columnist
- Position:
- Con to the question "Should Gay Marriage Be Legal?"
- Reasoning:
-
“I believe that same-sex couples should be entitled to the legal rights that married couples enjoy…. But, my friend, that is as far as I want to go. I define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Before you gay-rights folks land on me with both feet, I would like to remind you that I have been supportive of your movement for many years, have withstood a great deal of criticism in the process and have risked the wrath of some editors and publishers. I cannot support same-sex marriage, however, because it flies in the face of cultural and traditional family life as we have known it for centuries. And that’s where I must draw the line. Sorry.”
“Ask Ann Landers,” Chicago Tribune, July 21, 1996
- Involvement and Affiliations:
-
- Advice columnist, 1955-2002
- Boardmember, National Cancer Institute, 1980-1986
- Albert Lasker Award for Public Service, Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, 1985
- President’s Commission on Drunk Driving Boardmember, 1981
- Former Member, Advisory Committee to the Director, National Institutes of Health
- Former Party Chair, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Democratic Party
- Education:
-
- Attended Morningside College
- Other:
-
- Died on June 22, 2002
- Real name: Esther Pauline Friedman Lederer
- David Rambo wrote the play “The Lady With All the Answers” about her life in 2006
- Her twin sister wrote a similar advice column titled “Dear Abby”