Right now, a little less than half of the United States does not think that gay people should have the right to get married. One thing that can help to change the minds of those who are against marriage equality is hearing the heart-breaking stories of same-sex couples who have suffered because they are not protected under the law. Kelly Glossip and Dennis Engelhard are one of those stories.

Engelhard, 49, a State Highway patrolman in Missouri, was hit and killed by a vehicle on Christmas Day while he was on the job investigating an accident. Glossip, his partner of 15 years with whom he shared a home, has absolutely no right to Engelhard's pension, which he otherwise would if the state law recognized their relationship.

According to the St. Louis' Fox 2 KTVI, the Highway Patrol has no comment except to say that Glossip does not qualify to receive Engelhard's pension because the two are not legally married.

Further research on the topic shows that the Highway Patrol told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Engelhard "was not married and had no children."

Glossip, who is out of work due to back problems and relied on Engelhard as the main breadwinner in the family, now faces financial disaster. He is also responsible for a teenage son from a previous marriage.

"He was my true love and he always referred to me as his one and only true love and the man of his dreams," Glossip told Fox 2 KTVI. "We were hopelessly in love with each other."

Further adding to the pain of the situation, Backstoppers, a group that supports families of public safety workers killed while on the job, gave $5,000 to Engelhard's parents and not to Glossip, saying they did not know about the couple's relationship. Glossip said that his partner's parents are helping him with bills, though.

Missouri adopted a constitutional provision in 2004 that effectively banned same-sex marriage by stating that marriage in that state could legally only be between one man and one woman. Missouri will also not recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Jackson County and the cities of St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia allow couples to register as domestic partners, which offers extremely limited protections such as jail and hospital visitation.

It's beyond comprehension that while Glossip (or any person) is grieving for the loss of his spouse that he should also have to deal with blatant homophobia and the questioning of their relationship by the state in he lives and works. But we can only hope stories like this will continue to open minds to see the hurt that situations like this can cause.