Marriage Matters: Sharing Our Stories
Richard Phelps, 69, and Mitchell Wood, 60, met before Stonewall in 1966. At the time, Richard was a necessarily closeted teacher in a Roman Catholic elementary school and Mitchell was an orderly in a local hospital. "There was a spark that had never occurred before," says Richard. "We wanted to meet again... and then again, and again."
He continued, "Finally we realized we were falling in love with one another. We decided to move in together and here we are 40 years later — more strongly in love than ever!"
Fans of live theatre, concerts and the ballet, they have season seats for the Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City and the Heartland Men's Chorus. They are also avid sports fans, with season tickets for the NFL Kansas City Chiefs and the AFL Kansas City Brigade.
Read through other families' stories here:
- Carmen and Anisia Machado
- Denise and Treeva Liggett-Creek
- Shelley Hayes and Mary Horvath
- Terri Miller and Cindy Simms
- Mark McKinney and Steve Lepre
- Jennifer Lin and Jeanne Fong
- Lori and Cin Diné
- Gita Deane and Lisa Polyak
- Nigel Simon and Alvin Williams
- Jo Rabb and Takia Foskey
- Lisa Laurey and Toni Williamson
- Richard Phelps and Mitchell Wood
- Desiree Leone and Carolee Stoll
- Barry Clayton and Michael Garaza
- Stephanie Furness and Shannon Kearns
- Charles Blackburn and Glen Dehn
- Delia Meraz and Persephone Gonzalez
- Amorie Robinson and Hattie Alexander-Robinson
Why Marriage Matters America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry
By Evan Wolfson
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Read families’ stories about how marriage discrimination affects everyday life. These stories communicate, in concrete ways, how the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage hurts families and helps no one.
Start in The Marriage Basics to get short answers to your big questions about the freedom to marry, and learn more about the protections and responsibilities of marriage, the historical background for this civil rights movement, why separate is not equal, and so much more.
