Tom Privitere and Brian Edwards, a married couple living in New Jersey, said their engagement photo was altered from the original by the group, Public Advocate of the United States, which opposes gay marriage, in mailers sent during campaigning for Republican statehouse seats in Colorado.

Tom Privitere and Brian Edwards posed for their engagement photo, holding hands and kissing, in front of the Brooklyn Bridge in 2010. The image captured one of the happiest days of their lives. But earlier this year, their special moment was soured when the photo was used in two anti-gay mailers in Colorado.

On Wednesday, the couple and their photographer filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Colorado against Public Advocate of the United States, a nonprofit that opposes same-sex marriage. They are seeking a court order saying the group violated the law, damages, costs and attorney fees for the allegedly unauthorized use of the copyrighted photo.

“We want to take back the beautiful moment in our lives that was reflected in our engagement photo before it was hijacked,” Edwards, a 32-year-old college administrator living in Montclair, N.J., told NBC News on Monday before traveling to Colorado to file the lawsuit. “We also … want to take a stand for others who might be similarly targeted in the future.”

The couple, who met in New York in 2000, got engaged in December 2009. The next year in May, photographer Kristina Hill snapped their engagement photos. The pair married later that year in a civil ceremony in Connecticut.

“All that we did was what any other couple would do to mark their engagement and have these photos taken for family and friends to share our joy and our excitement and help people (see) what path we were taking toward our wedding,” said Privitere, 37. “It was a great, great day for us.”

Kristina Hill/Kristina Hill Photography

This original engagement photo of Tom Privitere and Brian Edwards was taken on May 23, 2010. The couple married in Connecticut later that year.

The couple alleged that Public Advocate seized upon that personal moment to spread what Edwards called a “message of hate” in two mailers it sent this spring during Republican primary races for the Colorado statehouse.

One of the mailers targeted State Sen. Jean White, who supported a bill that would have granted same-sex civil unions. Across the couple’s image were the words: “State Senator Jean White’s Idea of ‘Family Values?’” The other one, aimed at House candidate Jeffrey Hare, read: “Jeffrey Hare’s Vision for Weld County?” Both candidates lost their races.

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A friend alerted the couple to the mailers in late June. It’s not clear how Public Advocate got the photo, which the pair had posted to a blog about their engagement and impending nuptials. They say the group never asked the couple or Hill to use it.

When contacted by NBC News for comment on the lawsuit, Eugene Delgaudio, president of Public Advocate, said in an email that he was looking into it but did not elaborate or provide further remarks.

“The use of Tom and Brian’s likenesses, or of Kristina’s copyrighted photo, was wholly gratuitous,” said their attorney, Christine Sun, of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Public Advocate could have just paid for a stock photo of a gay couple kissing but instead Public Advocate decided to take this very personal photo of this happy moment and use it to attack gay people.”

“ … the doctrine of fair use is not intended to allow people to use copyrighted work just because it’s cheaper than paying for something,” she added.

The couple has experienced sleepless nights and anxiety since they learned of the mailer. They’re concerned about the impact of the mailers upon others who may have seen it, such as gay youth and their families who may be struggling with accepting them.

“Colorado is a positive step in trying to right a wrong,” said Privitere, who works in entertainment ticketing. “We’re nervous to be thrust into the public spotlight again. We’re nervous that we’re not going to represent our community the best that we can. But we’re going to do all that we can to try to fix or make this right.”

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Gay and lesbian activists protested outside the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2009.

Forget San Francisco (18th) or New York (not even on the list) — the gayest city in the U.S. is Salt Lake City, Utah, according to The Advocate, the gay and lesbian newsmagazine.

Rather than rely on the U.S. Census tabulation of gay and lesbian populations, which inevitably yield San Francisco as No. 1, The Advocate used different measures to establish "per capita queerness" — including a city's number of teams entered in the Gay Softball World Series, gay bookstores, openly gay elected officials and semifinalists in the International Mr. Leather Contest, which is held every year in Chicago.

"While those unfamiliar with the Beehive State are likely to conjure images of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, far-less-oppressive-than-it-used-to-be Salt Lake City has earned its queer cred," the magazine says.

Among Salt Lake City's charms: the Sundance Film Festival, which brings LGBT film buffs flocking to the city.

Read the full story at The Advocate

"If we were having a more scientific survey, I don't know that we would choose these as indicators," Valerie Larabee, director of the Utah Pride Center in Salt Lake City, told the Salt Lake Tribune.

But "all humor aside, I think that our city has come a long way," Larabee said, noting that Salt Lake City was the first municipality in the state to pass anti-discrimination ordinances based on a sexual orientation.

"If we were to rate the cities that have made the greatest amount of progress over the last 10 years, I think we certainly would rank among the top," she said.

Orlando, Fla., was second, thanks to annual Gay Days at Disney World and "more gay softball teams than you can shake a Louisville Slugger at."

And Knoxville, Tenn., has managed to produce a "robust gay scene" despite being in what the magazine calls a state with a legislature that "has been an unmitigated disaster for our rights." It ranks eighth, thanks to "gay-affirming churches" and a thriving LGBT club scene.

Here's the complete list from The Advocate:

1. Salt Lake City, Utah
2. Orlando, Fla.
3. Cambridge, Mass.
4. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
5. Seattle
6. Ann Arbor, Mich.
7. St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minn.
8. Knoxville, Tenn.
9. Atlanta
10. Grand Rapids, Mich.
11. Little Rock, Ark.
12. Portland, Ore.
13. Austin, Texas
14. Long Beach, Calif.
15. Denver
16. Washington
17. New Orleans
18. San Francisco
19. Pittsburgh
20. Salem, Ore.
21. Madison, Wis.
22. Eugene, Ore.
23. Oakland, Calif.
24. Boston
25. Kansas City, Mo.

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