Mary Norton & Wendy Becker
Mary Norton (left), 45, and Wendy Becker (right), 44, of Providence, RI have been a committed couple for 17 years, and want their five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son to know they are growing up in a family with as much love as all of the married families in their community.
Because their relationship is not recognized, they cannot give the legal and social protections only marriage affords to their family. For example, while waiting to board a plane with their daughter, Wendy and Mary faced a difficult experience. An airline employee stopped them in line and pulled them aside, demanding to know what their relationship was to their daughter. After showing the airline personnel their daughter’s birth certificate, they were made to wait in the corner while the airline decided whether or not to permit them on the plane. They were ultimately allowed to board, but they are concerned about this kind of event recurring, and how they would explain it to their children.
Wendy is a Professor in the School of Social Work at Rhode Island College. Mary is the Director of Research Administration for the Division of Biology and Medicine at Brown University.
Wendy and Mary filed a notice of intention to marry in Attleboro, Massachusetts, but were not issued a license because of the Attorney General’s cease and desist order of May 21, 2004.