A gay couple attending the historic White House signing of the Respect for Marriage Act this week decided to mark the momentous occasion by getting engaged.
The bill, which places federal recognition of same-sex marriage into national law, already brought joy to the estimated 5,400 White House attendees, not to mention countless queer couples and others watching online.
But Rod Snyder made the event a little more joyous by proposing to his partner of eight years, Alex Orton.
“He said yes! 🌈” Snyder wrote via Twitter. “When @AlexOrtonWV and I met 8 years ago, same-sex marriage was illegal in West Virginia and many other places. Today at the @WhiteHouse, @POTUS signed the #RespectForMarriageAct into law, and Alex and I decided to spend the rest of our lives together. #LoveWins.”
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He said yes! ?
When @AlexOrtonWV and I met 8 years ago, same-sex marriage was illegal in West Virginia and many other places. Today at the @WhiteHouse, @POTUS signed the #RespectForMarriageAct into law, and Alex and I decided to spend the rest of our lives together. #LoveWins pic.twitter.com/baIaexkHOL
— Rod Snyder (@RodSnyderWV) December 13, 2022
Snyder’s proposal seems all the sweeter considering that he only publicly came out as gay about a decade ago.
At the time, he was the 33-year-old outgoing president of the Young Democrats of America, a national group that elects, advocates for, and trains progressive Democratic leaders.
In a 2013 open letter to the organization’s members, he said he had “unfinished business” after years of leading the group. Even though he had worked hard organizing advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, he himself hadn’t addressed his own identity, he said.
“I am a Christian, an American, a West Virginian, a Young Democrat … and a gay man,” he wrote in his letter. He added that he hadn’t come out until age 31 because he grew up in a Christian family that made it “long and difficult” for him to accept his sexuality.
“It’s important to note that I didn’t shed my faith when I embraced my sexuality,” he wrote. “I’ve reached a place where I believe my story can help increase understanding, provide encouragement and be a catalyst for change.”
Snyder now works for the federal Environmental Protection Agency and he regularly posts images from his professional outings. Orton works as an educator in West Virginia.
The couple’s engagement surely warmed their hearts during the event’s 40-degree daytime weather. To add to the celebration, the D.C. Gay Men’s Chorus, nonbinary singer Sam Smith, and longtime LGBTQ+ ally Cyndi Lauper all performed for the crowd as well.
Not many couples can say that they got engaged during a historic gay event while being serenaded by international queer icons. Considering the love and care that Snyder put into popping the question, we’d say he’s definitely a keeper — congrats to the happy couple!
Watch Lauper’s performance below…
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dbmcvey
Sweet! Congratulations!
bakeembakeem
Awesome
GayEGO
Great! My partner and I were together 44 years when we were able to get married in 2004 in Massachusetts which passed Marriage Equality. Then came 2013 when section 3 of DOMA was repealed, and then 2015 when Marriage Equality became the law of the land. Our tax guy, who was straight, told us to file our taxes as a married couple in February, 2014 so we could save $3,000! My partner passed away at the age of 88 in June, 2019, we were together for 57 years, married 15 years.
blf49
My condolences. We didn’t have as long, but I expect you feel as I do: even knowing how it would go, I would do it all over again.
I was born late in the 1940s. To live long enough to see what we have seen! And the current poetics remind us that what we have won could disappear so quickly. We still have to see the human rights spread to everyone.