Gay Fathers Group Leader Wants Future Marriage to Longterm Partner Federally Recognized

As the U.S. Supreme Court justices deliberate on a challenge to California's Proposition 8 ban of gay marriage, one local man is preparing to head to New York to marry his long-term partner.

Billy Cochran, leader of Gay Fathers of Atlanta, which meets in Virginia-Highland, plans to marry his partner, Barry, on their fifth anniversary on April 12 in New York.

“It is amazing,” said 48-year-old Cochran about the opportunity to marry the man he loves. He was divorced from his wife 12 years ago. “I truly thought this opportunity would never present itself again.”

Unless SCOTUS decides to overturn the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, Cochran’s marriage would not be recognized federally, which means that he and his partner would not receive benefits afforded to other married Americans. 

“I hope people understand that there’s no difference between what I want and what they want,” Cochran said about the nation’s division on Proposition 8. “Gay people are not second-class citizens.”

 Cochran, now a grandfather, first “came out” as a gay man at age 36 after being married to a woman and having children with her.

Most of his friends and family were supportive, and Cochran adopted the mindset that not everyone would like the fact that he is a gay man and he can’t change their minds.

“There are people that aren’t going to like me because I’m bald or because I’m outspoken or because I’m gay, and that’s the way the world works.

“I think people are hung up on the Biblical definition of marriage,” said Cochran, who said he simply wants to be in “a committed relationship that’s legally recognized.”

Right now, Cochran is not focusing on the national debate surrounding gay marriage, but on his own impending wedding and the excitement that comes with it.

“I consider myself very lucky to find someone with whom I can have a committed relationship, and I’m over-the-moon excited that I get to share that with some people,” Cochran said.