American Foundation for Equal Rights

The Plaintiffs

Tim Bostic & Tony London

Carol Schall & Mary Townley

Timothy Bostic and Tony London have been a couple for nearly 25 years and have lived in Virginia since 1991.A Ph.D. graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Tim was formerly an assistant professor of English at Old Dominion University (ODU) and is currently a Humanities and English professor at The Culinary Institute of Virginia.  Prior to his work at ODU, he taught high school English for six years in Norfolk. Tony served in the United States Navy and has been a real estate agent in Virginia for 16 years.On July 1, 2013, Bostic and London applied for a marriage license from the Norfolk Circuit Court Clerk. Their request was denied because they are a same-sex couple.

On October 6, 2014, Tim and Tony finally obtained their marriage license after the Supreme Court let stand the Fourth Circuit Court’s ruling that found Virginia’s marriage ban unconstitutional.

Carol Schall and Mary Townley have lived in Virginia since 1982, and have been a couple for nearly 30 years. Carol is an assistant professor in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where she specializes in research on teaching autistic children. She received her Ph.D. from VCU in 2003. Mary has spent the majority of her career working with special needs children in Virginia’s public school system. Mary currently serves as the Supervisor of Transitional Programming at the Health Diagnostic Laboratory. She received her B.A. in special education from Hood College in Frederick, MD.Carol & Mary were married in California in 2008, and now seek to have their marriage recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia. They are the proud parents of a 15-year-old daughter.

On October 6, 2014, Carol and Mary renewed their vows in Richmond, VA after the Supreme Court let stand the Fourth Circuit Court’s ruling that found Virginia’s marriage ban unconstitutional.