CUYAHOGA FALLS -- The Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium boasts 10,000 members.
The rec center offers more than 100 memberships, but one married couple is made to feel out of place.
Shane and Coty May have been members of the natatorium for two years.
Coty, an Army veteran, uses the pool as part of his rehabilitation from a severe injury he sustained in a helicopter crash, during the Iraq war.
"It does wonders for me," he said. "It relaxes my muscles. Helps a lot with the pain."
Shane and Coty married in Washington D.C., this past fall.
The Mays decided to combine their individual natatorium memberships into a spousal family plan, to save money.
But they were shocked when an employee denied their request.
"She proceeded to look me in the face and tell me my marriage wasn't real," Shane said.
The natatorium's spousal policy adheres to Ohio state law, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
"We felt like we were being treated like second class citizens," said Shane. "This didn't seem right. Not only for gay couples, but domestic partners as well as everybody else."
Group memberships for domestic partners and same sex couples are offered at many rec centers today.
The Twinsburg Fitness Center recognizes same sex married couples for family membership, as does the Medina Community Recreation Center and the Akron area YMCA.
Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robart says he thinks the natatorium has a fair policy. He says until the Ohio state law changes the definition of marriage, the natatorium will not either.
"It's a gym," Shane says. "We're not trying to say that Cuyahoga Falls needs to legalize gay marriage or anything. All we're saying is update your policy."
The Mays have started a petition at www.change.org, hoping to spark just such a change.
"The law does not prohibit you from changing a policy," Shane says. "That's all it is. Updating a policy to allow families to be families."
WKYC-TV
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