Father and son marry after they dissolve adoption

A man who adopted his same-sex partner
because they couldn’t legally marry is now the
husband of his “son.”
USA Today reports:
Norman MacArthur and Bill Novak spent
the past 15 years as father and son in the
eyes of the law; they’ll spend the rest of
their years as a married couple. The
couple, together for more than 50 years,
married in Pennsylvania on Sunday,
Yahoo News reports. Prior to the
ceremony, the men told Patch.com they
were “ecstatic beyond belief.”
Novak adopted MacArthur in 2000 after
the pair moved from New York to
Pennsylvania and realized their legal
partnership wouldn’t be recognized.
“The only legal avenue we had in order to
be afforded any rights was adoption,”
MacArthur says. The “creative” strategy is
“entirely understandable,” a lawyer says.
“It reflects people’s deep need to protect
each other as family.”
When a court agreed to dissolve their
adoption this month so the men could
marry, “The courtroom burst into
applause. I burst into tears,” MacArthur
tells the AP.
“They were certainly happy tears. After
months of investigating ways that we
could do this and finally having the
decision coming down in our favor, I’m
still walking 3 feet above the ground.”
This first case of an adoption-turned-
marriage in the state “removes the hurdle
for other people who may be in the same
position as Bill and Norm,” the couple’s
attorney says. He’s already representing
another couple hoping to vacate an
adoption in order to tie the knot.