Gay America: The Road to Gay Marriage and LGBT Rights

Overview

For decades, same-sex couples have been denied the legal rights of heterosexual couples. Today, they are closer than ever to equality, but there are still many rights yet to be won.

Since the 1969 Stonewall riots, the LGBT community has been adamant that even if its members are perceived as being different by fellow Americans, they are equal before the law.

The stories of same-sex couples and the controversies surrounding them shed light on the struggle for LGBT acceptance in the U.S. and throughout the world.

Experience the struggles and triumphs of gay families and individuals through the reporting and photography of The Associated Press.

Introduction

Waiting on a Dream

Rachel Duncan, left, and Brianna Watts talk about their plans to get married after a probate court judge in Greenville county, S.C., rejected their marriage license application. They were one of three same-sex couples who applied for marriage licenses Wednesday morning. They said they were disappointed but are optimistic that its just a matter if time before then can get married in South Carolina, October 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Mitch Weiss)

Rights in Limbo

October 11, 2014

By Mitch Weiss

Brianna Watts and Rachel Duncan hoped that this time it would be different — this time the clerk behind the counter wouldn't say no.

Three months ago, the Greenville, S.C., couple had gone to the probate judge's office with paperwork in hand, knowing there was no way the clerk would accept their application for a marriage license because of the state's ban on same-sex marriage. But Wednesday was different.

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on October 6 not to hear any appeals from states seeking to keep their gay marriage bans had given hope to Watts and Duncan — and thousands of couples across the country — that they would soon be able to marry.

But the courts inaction also triggered confusion in many states. Take some of those covered by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In Virginia, where the circuit court had previously overturned the ban, marriages have already started. In North Carolina, where the ban had been overturned by a lower court judge and the attorney general had promised not to defend it anymore, couples were expecting an imminent court decision to let them marry. In South Carolina, which had not yet had its law overturned and where the attorney general vowed to keep fighting for it, couples weren't quite sure what would happen.

Despite the uncertainty, Duncan and Watts remained hopeful. Watts put on a turquoise dress with a white sweater. Duncan's blue sweater covered her gray and white button down shirt. They wanted to look good for their wedding day, Duncan said.

I think they're going to say yes today, she said. I really do.

As they waited for the court to open, Duncan, 31, and Watts, 26, reminisced. They met five years ago at a party in Charlotte and immediately hit it off. Watts was strong, determined with a smile that could light up a room; Duncan was outgoing and funny.

They've wanted to get married for years and start a family. But like so many same-sex couples across the country, they've had to wait.

There are a lot of legal issues. If you're not recognized by the state, it's a struggle, Duncan said.

The couple moved to Greenville a few years ago. Watts works for a document company that offers benefits to gay couples. Duncan is an artist.

With all the recent court cases overturning gay marriage bans, the couple has started making wedding plans. They set a date for next October.

But in a city that's home to Bob Jones University, one of the most conservative Christian schools in the nation, they had problems finding a venue for their reception. They said, 'We're not going to do a gay marriage. We can't be part of that,' Watts said.

Duncan and Watts walked to probate court with a group of about 20 supporters and two others gay couples planning to marry.

The other couples went inside first. When each emerged, they told the crowd, the court had refused to accept their application.

Duncan and Watts took a deep breath and opened the door.

The couple told clerk Elizabeth Robinson they wanted to get a marriage license and handed her their application. She told them she couldn't accept it because of the state law.

Watts was polite, thanking Robinson for her kindness and told her they'd return in a few days.

As they left, Robinson began crying.

As Duncan, Watts and their supporters were ready to disperse, they heard the news: a probate judge in Charleston had accepted a same-sex couple's application for a marriage license.

South Carolina has a 24-hour waiting period for marriage licenses. But if things went right, a gay couple in South Carolina could be married by Thursday.

Watts and Duncan wondered if Greenville Probate Court Judge Debora Faulkner would change her mind. They didn't want to get their hopes up, but it was an encouraging sign. No one was going to leave — not yet.

But inside her office, Faulkner said no licenses would be issued there because pending court cases could have different results, forcing her to void a license.

No one wants to think they're married when they're not, she said.

Faulkner blamed the U.S. Supreme Court for the mess.

If they had issued a written decision categorically finding that all state statutes that banned same sex marriage are unconstitutional, then we would immediately start issuing licenses, she said.

Watts, Duncan and others would have to wait for the legal issues to play out in the courts.

While Watts and Duncan were disappointed, this rejection felt like the last one they would have to suffer.

It's only a matter of time at this point. Whether it's today, or whether it's in a couple of weeks, couple of months, it's changing, Watts said.

Sherwood Howard, left, embraces Nevada State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson as they get married outside of the Marriage License Bureau in Las Vegas. The two had just obtained a same-sex marriage license and were the first same-sex couple married in Las Vegas, October 9, 2014. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Trevor Donovan takes pictures at a Statehouse rally in Columbia, S.C. Supporters of gay marriage held a rally at the capitol the same day a Charleston County Probate judge approved an application for a same-sex marriage license, October 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

Pamela Thiele, left, and her spouse, Lauren Fortmiller, of Lakewood, Colo., take part in a rally staged by Why Marriage Matters Colorado on the steps of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. Elected officials joined members of the clergy and community leaders to celebrate in the wake of marriage equality moving forward in the Centennial State, October 8, 2014. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

1

Rights Denied

The Struggle to Adopt

September 23, 2014

By Michael Biesecker and Julie Watson

This photo shows a framed photograph of marriage partners Jessica, rear, and Nivia Huskey, a Marine corporal currently deployed in Kuwait, at their home in Jacksonville, N.C., August 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

On the wall over her bunk in Kuwait, Marine Cpl. Nivia Huskey proudly displays a collection of sonogram printouts of the baby boy her pregnant spouse is carrying back home in North Carolina. If all goes as planned, the 28-year-old military policewoman will return to Camp Lejeune in time for a January delivery at an on-base hospital.

But the space on the baby's birth certificate marked Father will be left blank.

Though her wedding in Washington, D.C., to Jessica Painter Huskey is recognized by the federal government, including the military, Cpl. Huskey is assigned to a battalion based in North Carolina, where state law bans same-sex marriage. She is barred from legally adopting her spouse's biological child, and will have no legal recognition as a parent.

Last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act ensured that federal military benefits extend to same-sex partners and their children.

But about two-thirds of active-duty personnel in the U.S. are based in states that don't recognize gay marriages, leaving thousands of military families missing out on legal rights they would enjoy if Uncle Sam had stationed them elsewhere.

At their home near Edwards Air Force Base north of Los Angeles, Lt. Col. Ivan Acosta and his husband George Guthrie enjoy the benefits of living in a state that recognizes their relationship. In April 2013, they jointly adopted a baby girl named Emma. Both men are listed as parents on their daughter's passport and birth certificate.

That is definitely why we would want to stay in California, said Acosta, a 39-year-old aerospace engineer. It's something that we have to think about that most straight couples do not have to think about.

Same-sex marriage is legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Challenges in other states continue to make their way through the courts, many of them successfully.

A three-judge federal appeals panel recently upheld a lower court ruling striking down Virginia's same-sex marriage ban, a legal precedent considered binding on a judge currently considering the constitutionality of North Carolina's very similar prohibition.

The Virginia ruling, like similar cases in a slew of states, remains on hold and appears headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Huskeys both grew up in an area dominated by peach orchards outside Gaffney, South Carolina. They were good friends in high school and began dating while in college.

Cpl. Huskey enlisted with the Marine Corps within days of the 2012 repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. They got married last year, just before the Marine shipped out for a war tour in Afghanistan.

Jessica Huskey stands by a yellow ribbon placed there by her spouse Nivia Huskey before Nivia's military deployment in Jacksonville, N.C. Last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act ensured that federal military benefits extend to same-sex partners and their children. But about two-thirds of active-duty personnel in the U.S. are based in states that don't recognize gay marriages, leaving thousands of military families missing out on legal rights they would enjoy if Uncle Sam had stationed them elsewhere, August 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Currently in Kuwait, Cpl. Huskey was not available for an interview.

Jessica Huskey spoke at their tidy house outside Jacksonville, a short drive north of the sprawling base where her spouse is posted when stateside. The home is filled with photos and keepsakes of their nearly 10 years together.

A lawyer, Huskey has put a lot of thought into the potential legal implications of what will happen if their baby