The Culmination of a Long Journey
By Michael Sabatino and Robert Voorheis
Last Tuesday, December 12, 2022, was an exciting day for us. It was great to be at the White House with so many other plaintiffs and advocates as the President signed The Protection of Marriage Act into law. We still have work to do as the LGBTQ community is under attack throughout our country. The next step is for Congress to pass the Equality Act.
This was the culmination of 2 1/2 decades of work. While the bill is not perfect, it will protect our marriage and those in interracial marriages from being dissolved or negated.
In 1998, we joined a small group of individuals in their effort to highlight the inequality in the marriage laws of the United States. Committed couples were being denied access to marriage simply because of who they loved.
Marriage Equality NY (MENY) was formed as a political organization to lobby the New York State Legislature. The group had no illusions that their goal would be achieved in their lifetime, but the movement needed to begin so that the next generation would gain the access that was needed to protect the families of the LGBTQ+ community. Support spread quickly and we soon realized that a distant dream might actually become reality.
Through numerous legal struggles both in New York and in other states, and ultimately the United States Supreme Court, the court cases overcame the objections of the detractors. As one of the couples involved in those cases, we were ecstatic when the New York State Court of Appeals agreed with our assertion, and we became one of the first couples to have their marriage recognized by New York State.
Sabatino and Voorheis got legally married in Niagra Falls Canada on October 4, 2003. In 2009, the New York State Court of Appeals heard the couple’s case and recognized legally performed marriages in other jurisdictions before same sex marriage became legal in New York State on July 24, 2011.
These two men are walking history for marriage equality. Their archival material is now in three museums; The Smithsonian American History Museum, and the ONE ARCHIVES AT USC, and soon at the American LGBTQ Museum, set to open in New York City in 2025.
Both men live in Yonkers, and we have had the pleasure of coverning their journey in Yonkers Rising and Yonkerstimes.com. Congratulations!
