During the AIDS crisis, many romantic partners were barred from visiting their significant other in the hospital because they weren’t legally recognized as family. Older generations of gay men became particularly aware and had understood the privileges involved in marriage. He had just a 3% chance of survival.Īlan and his partner of 18 years, Rick Lasher, decided to do something that wouldn’t have been possible just a few years prior: they got married. He desperately needed open-heart surgery. The 58-year-old Harry Potter World train conductor’s ultrasound showed he had an undiagnosed birth defect. Infogram Click to enlarge Click to reduce Gay in Americaĭino Alan couldn’t breathe like he used to.
