Video: Gay couple’s 61-year wait to marry

Haven’t they waited long enough?

New York residents Richard Adrian Dorr and John Mace have been together for 61 years but still cannot get married.

The couple, aged 83 and 91 respectively, could marry in a handful of other US states. But they insist they will not tie the knot until their home state grants equal marriage.

They are shown in a video released by gay rights group Freedom to Marry, which is stepping up its campaigns.

In the video, the couple reveal they met at the Juilliard School of Music in 1948 and have been together since 1950. Both are voice teachers who live and work in Manhattan.

Over the years, they have taught students including Bette Midler, Vanessa Regrave and the late Natasha Richardson.

Mr Dorr said: “We’ve thought about doing something up in Massachusetts or Connecticut, but we’ve always been New Yorkers… everything has been New York

“We’re New Yorkers and after 61 years of togetherness, we feel we have a right to be married in New York.”

Evan Wolfson, the president of Freedom to Marry, said: “Richard and John are the quintessential New York couple. They met at Juilliard and have spent most of their lives together here.

“They are still obviously so deeply in love after 61 years and yet after all those years of commitment, being there for one another through the ups and downs of life, they are still being denied the one thing they want most – the freedom to marry in New York. It is time to change that. After 61 years together, haven’t they waited long enough?”