‘It’s a slap in the face’: Midland gay couple discuses potential attack on same-sex marriage – Midland Daily News
At the end of a quiet dirt road in Midland County, a cluster of structures sits next to a serene pond. There are chicken pens, canary cages and a small garden tended to by an older couple.
Douglas Webster, 71, and Alan Harrow, 79, have been together since the 1990s. They were the first same-sex couple to receive a marriage license in Midland County following the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.
The couple has enjoyed many happy years of marriage, but they are concerned about what is happening across the country.
Lately, rhetoric targeting the LGBTQ+ community at state and federal levels is increasing. That includes the actions of the 157 Republican U.S. House members who recently voted against a bill that would codify same-sex and interracial marriage into law, including Harrow and Webster’s own Congressional representative, John Moolenaar, R-Midland.
“I see it as nothing (but) a cruel power play,” Webster said. “How does our marriage affect anyone else?”
After dating for five years, the couple tied the knot in 2000 through a marriage ceremony attended by 75 people.
Without yet being married “legally,” though, there were legal barriers they dealt with, such as property-related matters.
On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5–4 decision that the Fourteenth Amendment required states to issue same-sex marriages and recognize the same-sex marriages granted in other states. After the Supreme Court decision was announced, they walked down to the Midland County clerk’s office to apply for a license.
Harrow said it was validating to have their marriage recognized by the government.
As it happened, the two already had a trip planned to Europe, so their spontaneous marriage license ended up turning this trip into their honeymoon. The trip had a second instance of perfect timing when the couple ended up in Amsterdam, Netherlands, during the city’s pride parade, Webster said.
“It was an interesting weekend, to put it that way,” Harrow said.
Harrow said he recognizes that society has overall become more accepting towards gay people. A recent Gallup poll showing that 71% of people nationwide think same-sex marriage should be legal.
However, both spouses agree that a vocal-minority of far-right voters and Christian nationalists are drumming up fear and division over issues relating to rights of women, racial minorities, and LGBTQ+ people. Harrow said people like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon and former president Donald Trump are creating hateful messages that seem to appeal to these far-right voters.
The two live quietly in rural Midland County since receiving the license, currently in their 27th together. Personally, they said they have not experienced much harassment related to their sexual orientation in Midland County, aside from a few intolerant family members.
However, there have been times when the married couple do not introduce themselves as husband and husband when speaking to people in the county. But Harrow said he cares less about what people say as he gets older.
When U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas made comments that Obergefell v. Hodges, the decision legalizing same-sex marriage, should be revisited, many alarm bells went off that same-sex marriage could be next on the chopping block. Harrow said it would not be surprising if the current Supreme Court decided to strike it down, but it would surprise him if the same-sex marriage law wasn’t passed by Congress.
“To me, it says that those conservative crackpots on the Supreme Court have to make some portion of the populace second-class (citizens),” Webster said. “I think we are halfway decent citizens of the community. We go to church, we pay our taxes, donate to charities and worthy organizations, we are not on welfare – which is something conservatives love to screech about! It is just a slap in the face.”
While they have supportive neighbors, friends and church members, one person they feel slighted by is Moolenaar, who represents Michigan’s current 4th Congressional District. Moolenaar was one of the 157 Republican representatives who voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, dissenting from the 47 Republicans and all Democrats in the House who voted in favor of the bill.
Webster does not think Moolenaar represents the people of his district. Harrow said Moolenaar simply follows the “GOP playbook.”
When asked what they would like to say to Moolenaar about his vote, Harrow asks one simple question: “Why?”
The Daily News reached out to Moolenaar’s office multiple times for comment for this story. His office did not respond.
Webster said he feels uncomfortable with the direction of the country’s political landscape in terms of LGBTQ+ rights. Harrow said he is concerned that the country is heading in a fascist direction.
Webster has faith that young people are open and don’t see any point in being “so cruel.” Harrow added that dismantling same-sex marriage would affect a lot more people in Midland than some may think.
“I doubt if 10% of the people in Midland County do not know a gay person,” Harrow said. “They may not know it, but (they are probably) familiar with some gay people in Midland. They are professionals, teachers, doctors, and nurses. They come in contact with them.”