Duxbury, Vermont - September 20, 2011
Navy Lt. Gary Ross has been serving his country for 16 years. And for 11 years he's been dating Dan Swezy. Ross has always been forced to put his love for his country ahead of his love for his partner-- that was until today.
"But it's been a serious talk for about the past nine months and it's something we've dreamed about for years," Swezy said.
Despite some pre-wedding jitters...
"I'd say we're both a little nervous," Ross said.
"Yeah, we're afraid we'll forget our vows!" Swezy added.
...At 12:01 a.m. they made history. But arriving at this historic day hasn't been easy. They say the debate in Congress caused as much disappointment as hope.
"It's an undescribable feeling when you think finally we could be just like everybody else. And then you get let down and then you get excited again and then you get let down. And so last time, once the president certified the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell,' we were still cautious about getting excited," Ross said.
The couple traveled from Arizona where same-sex marriage is not legal to get married at the Moose Meadow Lodge in Duxbury, the same location as the first same-sex marriage in Vermont back in 2009.
"It means a lot to me just because I'm a part of it. I'm a part of history. So that's what makes it exciting for me," said Greg Trulson, co-owner of the Moose Meadow Lodge.
Though the couple is making history, they say they aren't getting hitched just to make headlines.
"We didn't come here at the stroke of midnight to be the first or to make news," Swezy said. "We came here because we wanted to get married for years and we didn't want to wait a moment longer than we had to."
But Ross says hiding his relationship any longer would be a dishonor to his duties.
"As an officer in the military I am expected to be a leader. And it would be a huge waste of the taxpayers' money if I stopped leading now just because I was a little bit nervous about people's reactions," Ross said.
Though he says he has some apprehension about returning to work Thursday, Ross hopes it will soon be back to business as usual.
"I'm still gonna come to work in my same uniform, I'm still gonna boot up my computer and read my emails, pour my tea, whatever I do… nothing's going to change. And I hope once people realize that that everyone will be OK with that," he said.
Ross now proudly wears his Naval Academy ring on his right hand and a wedding band on his left, displaying his love for his country and for his new husband.
The couple says they made the decision to come to Vermont partially because it's one of six states allowing same-sex marriage and also because it's Eastern Standard time-- they wanted to be married the first moment they legally could.
Deanna LeBlanc - WCAX News
