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IL Civil Unions Law a Landmark for Gay Couples
ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) -- Richard Peterson and Frank Colson have been together for 50 years in a relationship that has spanned 10 U.S. presidencies, and its share of intolerance and raised eyebrows.

Through it all, they've endured, to the point that they have adjoining cemetery plots and a headstone already in place.

What they lament is that they've never had official recognition from their government that they're a couple. This week, that changes.

On Wednesday, the Rockford retirees will be at the courthouse like scores of other gay and lesbian couples across Illinois. They'll apply for a civil union license as a new law bestows on them rights that were unimaginable when they became a couple in the early 1960s.

Governor Pat Quinn signed the historic civil union legislation into law in January.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
05 28 11 by Newsroom
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