50 Years of Loving: A Reflection On Seeking Justice Through Love and Relationships

Abstract

FIRST PARAGRAPH(S)|If an openly gay man or woman was asked twenty-five years ago (1992) if the country would sanction same-sex marriage, the response would likely have been one of utter incredulity. At that time, the AIDS crisis was in its second decade and those infected with the HIV virus were still facing a high probability of death. The first combination drug therapies, often referred to as "cocktails," that significantly improved the life expectancy for those infected with the HIV virus, were not introduced until 1996. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender ("LGBT") community was almost singularly focused on combating the AIDS epidemic, which included fighting for increased funding and research as well as caring for the affected members in their communities. I "came out" around that time, eventually meeting my life partner in 1998. Like most gay men at the time, we were not "out" at work nor with our primary physicians, utilizing anonymous HIV testing at the city health clinic. Being open about your same-sex orientation in a Midwestern city was a freedom few of us exercised, or if we did, we did so with extreme caution. Accordingly, this part of my identity was placed in a box kept separate from professional and certain personal segments of my life. Although my life partner and I participated in a non-legally-binding commitment ceremony in 2000, we had no expectation that our commitment would be legally recognized until we were old and gray at best...