A Vast Rainbow Greeted Our Vermont Same-Sex Civil Union Ceremony

One of the most meaningful and romantic events of our gay lives!

Before same-sex marriage, there was civil union, which first became legal in Vermont in 1999.

My husband (I call him that anyway) and I did not take advantage of the right to marry when it became legal in the United States. On June 26, 2015, in the case Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage, legalized it in all fifty states and territories, and required states to honor out-of-state same-sex-marriage licenses.

By the time of the Supreme Court decision, Gregory was well advanced on his dementia/Alzheimer’s journey, and in October 2015, he died. It is ironic that in our 41st year of being in a committed relationship, marriage did not mean much to us as individuals, but to the LGBTQ community, obviously, it was a monumental change.

Our first fall leaf vacation to the New England states

In 2000, Gregory and I had our first Fall Adventure to New England. I had just retired from teaching and for the first time in 30 years, was FREE in September to travel. Gregory had lived in the East…