On May 7, 2011, a young man named Tom Bridegroom died after falling from a roof, leaving behind his devastated partner of six years, Shane Bitney Crone . Tom's family had never accepted his relationship with Shane; in fact, members of Tom's family attacked and threatened him when he told them he was gay. Because Shane and Tom could not legally marry, Shane was not entitled to any information regarding Tom's death, the memorial service, or funeral arrangements (Crone). Tom's family was able to move Tom's body without informing Shane, remove Shane from the memorial service, and remove from Tom and Shane's shared home all personal belongings that Tom's family claimed belonged to Tom. Although they had built a life together for six years and even bought a house together, Tom and Shane had none of the protections offered by marriage. Without marriage, their relationship was, in the eyes of the law, that of roommates. There are approximately nine million people in the United States who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, and the majority of them cannot legally marry in the state in which they reside ("Statistics and facts about gay or lesbian marriage). Same-sex marriage is only legal in 16 states and the District of Columbia. Although the majority of U.S. citizens support the legalization of same-sex marriage, it is either against state law or banned by the constitutions of 33 states. Only one state, New Mexico, has no laws explicitly banning or permitting same-sex marriage (“Same Sex Marriage Fast Facts”). As residents of the 16 states that have legalized same-sex marriage can attest, many benefits coincide with the approval of same-sex marriage, not middle of paper......it's marriage. MSN Silver. Microsoft, April 11, 2011. Internet. December 5, 2013. Meezan, William and Jonathan Rauch. “Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting, and America’s Children.” The future of children. Princeton University Trustees. Internet. November 28, 2013.---. “Will children benefit from same-sex marriage? The future of children. Princeton University Trustees. Internet. November 28, 2013. “Same-Sex Marriage Fast Facts.” CNN US Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., November 29, 2013. Web. December 6, 2013. “Gay or Lesbian Marriage Statistics and Facts.” » A person's right to gay or lesbian marriage. Longwood University Blogs, June 21, 2013. Web. December 2, 2013. Stewart, Marcia. “Common law marriage”. NO. Internet. December 3, 2013. Stewart, Monte Neil. “Marriage Facts.” Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. Volume 31, number 1. 2008. Web. December 2 2013.