MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts and his
fiance on Sunday released official engagement photos.
Roberts and Patrick Abner, of Merck
Pharmaceuticals' HIV/AIDS division, will marry next month in
Manhattan. The pair have been together 12 years and announced their
engagement via Twitter on June 25, 2011, one day after gay marriage
was legalized in New York.
In their engagement photograph, the men
are dressed casually – stonewashed jeans and blue suede shoes –
along with their mixed labs Riley and Roxy.
The 39-year-old Roberts, who came out
gay in 2006, previously told The
New York Observer that he does not believe that being the
first news anchor to marry a person of the same sex will hurt his
career at MSNBC.
“I am not objective when it comes to
equality,” said Thomas.
“And that means for all. I want it for you, for me, for everybody
… It's written in the our Constitution: life, liberty and pursuit
of happiness, and what's wrong with talking about that? Nothing.”