After Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
signed into law a bill that makes Illinois the 16th state
to legalize gay marriage, Arcola resident Mark Wathen, a disabled
Navy vet, proposed marriage to his boyfriend with a full-page ad in
the Arcola Record-Herald.
(Related: IL
Gov. Pat Quinn signs gay marriage bill.)
Wathen told ABC affiliate Newschanel 20
that he did not expect the paper would accept his ad.
The proposal includes the couple's
photo along with graphics of two wedding bands and red roses wrapped
in ribbons.
“Todd, it has been ten years since I
first asked you to marry me. A lot has changed since we first met and
had our commitment ceremony. I love you more today than when we
first met. We have been very patient and now we can finally legally
be married! Todd, will you marry me? I love you, Mark.”
“We're not just looking for
benefits,” Wathen
told the news outlet. “If something happens to either one of
us, God forbid, I don't want the federal government to tax us because
they may or may not recognize us as a couple.”
The couple has been together for 11
years and entered a civil union in 2011.