The longest-married gay couple in the U.S. tells their story

Years before same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States after a ruling by the Supreme Court in 2015, Michael McConnell and Jack Baker were married.

The two first met in 1967 and in 1970 applied for a traditional marriage licence but were rejected by the county, which was then upheld by the state Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court also opted against hearing the case for "want of a substantial federal question," court documents show.

One strategy pursued led to McConnell adopting Baker to afford them increased legal rights, and when they submitted a new marriage certificate with Baker's legal name changed to "Pat Lyn," the county clerk's office certified the marriage not realizing they were a same-sex couple.

Last year, their original marriage was ruled valid in the wake of marriage equality, allowing a couple who have been together for almost 50 years to collect Social Security benefits afforded to couples.

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