Man, 76 marries adopted son, 52 after the legalisation of same-sex coupling

 76 year old Bill Novak, and Norman McArthur, 74, met 52 years ago, and were desperate to be legally together as a gay couple.  They decided that Bill would adopt Norman as his son because this was the only way they could remain together legally.

Luckily for them, both parents were dead, so, the adoption proceeding was fairly easy.

Mr MacArthur said: “I was the son and Bill was the father. Bill is two years older than I am, so that was the only reason.”

 Fifteen years later, the ban on same sex marriage has been lifted, leaving the two men free to marry.

But unfortunately, the couple’s original lawyer, who had advised to go for adoption as the only legal way they could remain together, told them no court would dissolve an adoption unless another person adopted Mr MacArthur.

However, a friend advised them the courts may allow a petition to vacate an adoption if it was made clear the only reason for it was to give a legal underpinning to the relationship.

The couple showed up in court on May 14 hoping the judge would sign the petition to vacate their adoption so they could get legally married with 30 friends to show the case was out of the ordinary, and the public gallery burst into applause when the judge decided to dissolve the adoption.

Ten days later, the lovebirds were legally married at a small private ceremony conducted by an old friend of the couple’s who is an Episcopalian priest.

“I feel incredibly happy. It’s the only way I can describe it – just enormously happy,” Mr MacArthur said. “It was very much worth the wait."