In 1983, after 25 years of marriage, Amity Buxton’s husband, a decorated World War II veteran now buried in Arlington National Cemetery, came out of the closet.

Realizing that there were no resources for people like her, she formed the Straight Spouse Network, today the only organization of its kind in the world to support heterosexual partners of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender people. Amity, author of ‘The Other Side of the Closet’, believes straight spouses are too often untold victims of homophobia and remains an outspoken proponent of equality.