Michael Silverstein was staring at the sun-drenched rock walls of the Grand Canyon with his boyfriend, Jacob Price, when his phone buzzed with the news: in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court had just legalized same-sex marriage across the country.
Silverstein rushed to his car. He scooped up an engagement ring he was hiding in his suitcase, sprinted back to Price at the canyon’s edge and dropped to one knee.
That was June 26, 2015.
A decade later, Silverstein and Price are still happily engaged. They haven’t yet exchanged vows or planned a wedding. But for Silverstein, that’s what the court’s decision was “all about.”
“The ruling allowed us to get married, and at the same time we are choosing not to because that suits our family. To me, that’s the ultimate level of choice and freedom,” he said.
