As North Carolina bans same-sex unions…

A California-based gay man has released an upsetting and poignant testimony to the lack of rights provided to same-sex couples.

Shane Bitney Crone is marking the one-year anniversary of his boyfriend’s untimely death with an incredibly upsetting and poignant memorial video called ‘It Could Happen To You’.

The video, which has gone viral this week, contains heartwarming stories about the relationship between him and his partner Tom Bridegroom, who were committed to one another for six years.

After they started a business, bought a home and “traveled the world together” they both decided to come out to their respective families. Crone notes however, that Bridegroom’s parents were outraged…

“When Tom returned to Indiana to visit his parents for Christmas, his father threatened him with a gun and physically attacked him.”

After Bridegroom died in May 2011, Crone was threatened and barred from attending the funeral and wake by Tom’s family, and he wasn’t acknowledged in the obituary. In the video he states…

“To Tom’s family, I no longer existed, and to the government, Tom and I were mere roommates”

At the end of the video, a visibly distraught Crone says…

“I need to fight for what’s right. I need to fight for what I believe in and I can’t just stand back anymore. Maybe that’s why this all happened, maybe this is part of the reason…is to open my eyes and to inspire me to want to make a change and to want to fight for equality.”

A memorial page in honor of Bridegroom has been launched on Facebook here. Leave your thoughts on this video and the recent news coming from North Carolina below.

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