Fifteen years ago, David Wilson and his husband Rob Compton were one of the first same-sex couples to marry in the U. If it had been up to Wilson and Compton, their union would've been recognized years before that. Frustrated by the injustice, both men became plaintiffs in a lawsuit that led to Massachusetts becoming the first state to legalize same-sex marriage on May 17, In a StoryCorps interview in March, the couple talks about how, until recently, their relationship carried consequences โ if it was acknowledged all.
When they first met, Compton was new to Boston. He moved there after losing his job in Michigan, he says, after coming out at work. He drove Compton to the hospital, the same one where, in , Wilson's former partner had been taken before dying from a heart attack. As Wilson recalled at StoryCorps in , the hospital staff wouldn't disclose information about his partner until they got permission from his partner's mother. In that respect, not much had changed between the two hospital visits, he said.
That marked the beginning of when the couple first started to think about actively pursuing the legal protections that marriage provides. In a climate where it was dangerous to be gay, Compton and Wilson took precautions the day of their wedding. The only disruption at the Arlington Street Church that day was one of joy.
When the minister began her pronouncement of marriage, the couple recalled an outburst of applause and feet stomping.
Here we are 15 years later and I don't even know where it is. StoryCorps is a national nonprofit that gives people the chance to interview friends and loved ones about their lives.
