Search form

Scroll To Top
Marriage Equality

WATCH: Gay Veterans Marry at Calif. Senior Home

WATCH: Gay Veterans Marry at Calif. Senior Home

John-banvard_gerard-nadeaux400

John Banvard, 95, and Gerard Nadeau, 67, were married at the Veterans Home of Chula Vista near San Diego last week.

sunnivie

Two gay veterans found their fairy-tale ending in each other last Thursday, when the senior couple married at their retirement home in Chula Vista, Calif.

John Banvard, 95, is a World War II veteran, and his new husband, Gerard Nadeau, 67, served in Vietnam. They have been together for more than 20 years, according to San Diego's Fox affiliate, both living at Veterans Home of Chula Vista for the past three years.

The newlyweds told the station they'd been waiting to tie the knot until they could get legally married. With the Supreme Court's landmark rulings in June, striking down a key section of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and effectively repealing California's ban on marriage equality known as Proposition 8, the couple wanted to make their commitment public before an intimate group of friends and family at the place they call home.

The facility director at the Department of Veterans Affairs-associated retirement home said some fellow vets and residents were upset by the couple's plan to marry. "It's been somewhat controversial," Neal Asper told the TV station, noting that the home held a town hall to discuss the upcoming wedding. "I told them, they have the right to get married here just like everybody else."

Watch the station's report below.

sunnivie
30 Years of Out100Out / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff & Wayne Brady

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

Sunnivie Brydum

Sunnivie is the managing editor of The Advocate, and an award-winning journalist whose passion is covering the politics of equality and elevating the unheard stories of our community. Originally from Colorado, she and her spouse now live in Los Angeles, along with their three fur-children: dogs Luna and Cassie Doodle, and "Meow Button" Tilly.
Sunnivie is the managing editor of The Advocate, and an award-winning journalist whose passion is covering the politics of equality and elevating the unheard stories of our community. Originally from Colorado, she and her spouse now live in Los Angeles, along with their three fur-children: dogs Luna and Cassie Doodle, and "Meow Button" Tilly.