The Westchester LGBTQ+ History Project

Michael Sabatino and Robert Voorheis are longtime marriage equality activists and residents of Yonkers, N.Y.

Together since 1978, the two held a commitment ceremony in 1979. In June 2003, they were married in Canada, four years after joining the group Marriage Equality NY.

After persuading Westchester County executive Andrew Spano to enact a county-wide executive order, the couple became parties in a lawsuit compelling the State to recognize marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

Sabatino and Voorheis’ case was later referenced in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Edie Windsor, a friend they assisted in traveling to Canada for her own marriage to Thea Spyer. The Windsor decision was a significant step towards federal recognition of same-sex marriages. In striking down key provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act, Windsor set a precedent that was later instrumental in the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges ruling granting same-sex couples the right to marry nationwide.

In addition their work with Marriage Equality, Sabatino and Voorheis are active members of their local community. After publicity surrounding their marriage led to their expulsion from their Bronx, N.Y. church, their story—and subsequent move to a church in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.—made national news.

The two are both involved in the group Yonkers Pride and have volunteered at WJCS Center Lane. In 2012, Sabatino became the first openly gay elected official in the city of Yonkers. The couple’s important work was featured in a marriage equality exhibit at the American History Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and a number of their personal documents will find a home at the American LGBTQ Museum in New York City (set to open in 2026).

In this interview with the Westchester LGBTQ+ History Project, Sabatino and Voorheis discuss their 45 years together as partners in life, love and activism.

To view the full transcript of this interview, click here.