Tom Bridegroom

Filmmaker Shane Bitney Crone proposed to his boyfriend, Rayvon Owen, saying he didn’t think he could love again after losing his former partner.

The year was 2005. It was a modern twist to the age-old fairy tales: boy meets boy and they fall in love. But unlike the fairy tales of old, this story had a very tragic ending…

BRIDEGROOM, an upcoming film that tells the emotional journey of Shane Bitney Crone and Tom Bridegroom, two young men in a loving and committed relationship that was cut tragically short by a misstep off the side of a roof, has released its first trailer, and is set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on April 23.

BRIDEGROOM, the documentary about tragedy befalling a gay couple and the inequalities that result from a lack of marriage protections, has become the highest funded film in the history of Kickstarter.com.

Just over a year ago, my partner, Tom Bridegroom, accidentally fell off a roof while taking photographs of our best friend. He died a few hours later. He was just 29 years old. … Because we weren’t able to marry and because, young and feeling invincible, we hadn’t had papers drawn up that would’ve protected us if one of us died, I lost all claim to Tom after he fell … For those out there who do not think they know someone who’s been deeply hurt by laws that prevent people from marrying the ones they love, well, now you do. My name is Shane Bitney Crone…

It’s been said that telling our stories is what will make the biggest difference in the end. It’s easy to see the statistics that have changed since more and more people have come out and more and more of our loved ones have changed their minds about support for our equality.