October 10, 2008

Gay Bristol couple hopes to marry this year

Press reporter Jackie Majerus wrote this story:

The gay couple who were first to get a civil union license in Bristol said Friday they hope to be married by the end of the year.

Ed Jabs said he was "very psyched" to find out that the Connecticut Supreme Court had ruled in favor of gay marriage.

"I had no idea it was actually this far," said Jabs, who said he and Carlo Positano, his partner of more than two decades, will "definitely" get their marriage license.

"We'll get married for sure," said Positano. "After 21 years of being together, it's a no-brainer."

They were thrilled at the court ruling, and Positano said he thinks more states will follow suit.

"I think it's good. It's gonna gain momentum," said Positano. He said it was remarkable that New England's "strait-laced states" were leading the way.

Jabs and Positano were married in a religious ceremony on Oct. 12, 1991, and got their civil union license Oct. 3, 2005.

On Friday, the couple were preparing to leave for a long weekend in Vermont, Jabs said, to celebrate their anniversaries.

"We just always take vacation in October," said Jabs.

Though Positano joked that they'd already had their wedding and civil union and didn't need to go through it again, he said it was important to do.

"Our civil union affords us some rights, but we don't know how far it goes," said Positano. 

Beyond the financial benefit of filing a joint income tax return, Positano said marriage will likely provide more protection in terms of medical and health care.

If one of them is sick or hospitalized, the other will be able to make decisions that a spouse would normally make.

"It just opens up a few more avenues," said Positano.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Two men do not make a marriage. Marriage is by definition a man and a woman. Two men is something else...a civil union, whatever the most politically correct term of the moment is. And it can be a beautiful thing, but it's not a marriage.