On Paper As Parent And Child, Gay Couples Annul Adoptions To Marry

We usually think about adoption as a relationship solely between parents and children.

It's not.

Before same-sex marriage became legal across the United States, some couples would become parent and child — just on paper — to get rights they were otherwise denied.

That's what Sergio Cervetti and Ken Rinker of Doylestown, Pa., did years after meeting in the fall of 1965. Rinker was 19 at the time and just back from a trip to Europe with his student dance troupe. He says he felt invigorated by Cervetti, who was five years older and a composer.

"I wasn't seeking a partner, I wasn't seeking love; it just happened," Rinker says. "So suddenly I found this person who was, to me, making my world round again."

Two years later they moved in together.

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