Founder of Gay Church to Marry His Partner
The founder and leader of the nation’s oldest predominantly gay church said he is going to Toronto to be legally married to his partner of 18 years.
The Rev. Troy Perry, who founded the Metropolitan Community Churches in Los Angeles in 1968, will marry Phillip Ray DeBlieck at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto on July 16 in a private ceremony.
The Canadian government agreed earlier this month to allow gay marriages after an Ontario court ruled that restricting marriage to heterosexuals was discriminatory and unconstitutional.
“One of the desires of my heart is to legally marry him before I die,” Perry said. “We’ve always said that to each other, and we finally have the chance to do it.”
Perry predicted that the new Canadian policy would result in gay marriage in the United States within five years. Perry first sued California in 1970 on behalf of two lesbians who wanted to marry.
“We lost that suit and that battle, but we didn’t lose the war,” he said.
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