Family Spotlight

Joe and Carlos met in high school biology class in Miami, Florida and are currently celebrating their fifteenth year together. They moved to Maryland from Florida after Joe completed graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania and Carlos finished law school at Georgetown University. To read more about them, click here.
Steve Charing and Bob Ford of Clarksville, Md. have been together in a committed relationship since 1980. "Less than one-fifth of heterosexual couples are together that many years," said Steve, who makes that point when discussing the marriage issue with his elected officials. To read more about them, click here.
Robyn Zeiger and Dori Anne Steele, of Silver Spring, Maryland, have been together 23 years. Because Robyn’s employer, the University of Maryland, does not offer domestic partner benefits, family health crises have jeopardized their household stability. To read more about them, click here.
Rick and Terrance, pictured here with their son Parker, met seven years ago when Terrance answered Rick's personals ad on Love@AOL. To read more about them, click here.
Erin Leveton and Margaret Lancaster (pictured with their son, Jay) have been together for more than a decade. As attorneys, they have taken every legal precaution to protect their family, but also understand that paperwork provides just one iota of the protections that a marriage license provides. To read more about them, click here.
Anthony and Stephen, of Columbia, Md., pictured with their son, Kortel, experienced "love at first sight" when they met ten years ago on a ski trip. To read more about them, click here.
Kris Wilhelm and BJ Taylor of Laurel have been together for nine years and look forward to the day when they won’t be legal strangers under the law.  To read more about them, click here.

Carrie Evans and Pamela Bennett, of Baltimore, have been together since 1999. To read more about them, click here.

Gretchen Schmid and Tiffany James, pictured with their daughter, Rachel, have been together for 12 years and live in Baltimore. To read more about them, click here.
Takia, 30, is an administrative assistant for a hospital laundry services company. Jo, 38, is a Baltimore city bus driver for the Maryland Transit Authority. They live in Baltimore and have been together for over three years. They had a commitment ceremony in June. They are raising Takia's biological children, a twelve-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son. For their story, click here.
Ric and BJ met eight years ago in Baltimore. They have been together in sickness and in health. To read more about them, click here.
In 1998, Julie and Brant met while both working for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington, DC. Brant, born and raised in CT, became good friends with Julie and her partner Sara and they decided to start a family. For their story, click here.
Marlowe and Eric met in 2001 and consider themselves a "match made in heaven." For their story, click here.
Mike Bernard and his spouse have been together since 1993, but cannot publicly identify themselves as a committed couple as his spouse’s employer can still legally terminate his employment for the mere fact that he is a gay man.  Besides enduring fear of discrimination, paying full and even extra taxes, yet bearing the responsibilities of every American citizen, Mike and his spouse do not enjoy full citizenship because of the denial of basic rights as a married couple. For their story, click here.
Susanne Abromaitis and Amanda Aubrey recently celebrated their relationship with a civil union ceremony in Vermont. The couple met years ago at a dance benefit for Whitman-Walker Clinic in Washington, D.C. To learn more about them, click here.
Mary Beth Dyer and Fran Widdick were married in June 2006 in Massachusetts. They hope that one day all committed couples will be able to celebrate and enjoy the rights and responsibilities that come with the legal recognition of marriage in the state of Maryland. To read more about Mary Beth and Fran, click here.

Carin and Paz live in Towson with their daughter, Isabel. Click here to read their story, click here.

Greg and Lucio, of Baltimore, Maryland, have been together for more than 10 years. Because Lucio’s native country is Brazil, and the U.S. does not recognize same-sex couples for immigration purposes, the couple has jumped through hurdles to remain together. Click here to read their story.
Karl Debus-López and Tanner Wray have lived for 11 years in the Silver Spring/Takoma Park area of Maryland. For more information about Karl and Tanner, click here.
Kim Musheno and Catherine Alson, pictured with their son, Alec, live in Silver Spring. "We both knew right away that we wanted to raise kids and grow old together," said Kim. To read more about their family, click here.
Jennifer Mercer and Jennifer Smoot-Mercer shown with their daughter Rhinnon tell of the challenges of getting both women recognized as parerents of their child. To learn about their journey, click here.
Joe Kaufman and Mark Brimhall celebrate eleven years together this year. They met during a trip to Williamsburg and the rest is history. To read their story, click here.
Khadijah Tribble and Robin Dickerson have four boys and live in Suitland, Maryland. Robin works full-time outside the house, and Khadijah is a stay-at-home mom. To learn more about this couple, click here.
Heather and Staci have been together for 14 years and are pictured here with their then-three-year-old triplets. To learn more about this family, click here.

Sally Green and Laura Heaven live in Takoma Park, Maryland, and are engaged to be married. To read their story, click here.

Kathy McGuire and Whitney Conneally live in Baltimore, Maryland with their son, Justin, and their new daughter, Mya. To read more about their family, click here.

Nick Marulli and Tim Bennett, of Crofton, Maryland, celebrated their committed relationship with a ceremony before family and friends in 2002. Nick gave twenty years in defense of his country, but faces discrimination by the federal and state governments because he and his partner are not recognized as family.   To read more about Nick and Tim, click here.
Melissa Schraibman and Mindy Michels, longtime Takoma Park, Md. residents, have been together for 11 years and have celebrated their relationship with a Reform Judaism ceremony. To read more about their family, click here.
Dr. Alvin Williams and Nigel Simon, pictured with son Kiran, live in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. They have been in a committed, intimate relationship for the last nine years and held a commitment ceremony on July 15, 2000 in the presence of 300 family and friends. To read their story, click here.
Jo Deutsch and Teresa Williams met almost 28 years ago at a NOW Convention in South Carolina. They have been in a long-term committed relationship for 20 years and live in Cheverly, Md with their three children, Jacob (16), Matthew (12) and Bena (6). Click here to read more about this family and their desire to marry in Maryland.

Randee Wilding and Josh Sullivan are a loving, committed couple from Columbia, Maryland. They relocated from Virginia to seek a more hospitable environment in which to adopt a child. Click here to read their story.

Rita and Sandy live in Silver Spring, Maryland and have been together for more than 17 years. Click here to read their story.

Kat Morgan and Daena Petersen live in Montgomery County and have been together for 13 years. Click here to read their story.