Ten years ago on Thursday, the Supreme Court allocated gay marriage as a constitutional right. ObergeFell v. Hodges by enabling husbands from LGBTQ+ to obtain legal protection on a set of cases of paternity, motherhood, health care to taxes and survival rights.
Although his name is now synonymous with pressure for equality in marriage, Jim Obergville, the main prosecutor in the case of history, has never expected to become an active.
In 2011, the late Ubergville husband, John Arthur, was diagnosed with a final disease. The couple, who were together for more than two decades, married in Maryland after two years. But they soon realized that their original condition in Ohio-who did not recognize the federations of the same sex-will not include ObergeFell as the husband of Mr. Arthur, the rest.
Why did we write this
Ten years ago, the Supreme Court issued the historical decision. Hodges, which makes gay marriage legally in all fifty states. Jim Obergville says the legal battle was about protecting the dignity and equality of people like him and his late wife.
Which started a campaign that would deeply change the lives of Americans LGBTQ+, who have long fought – and in 36 countriesWin – Right on Wednesday. The couple filed a lawsuit against Ohio in that year, as they won the provincial court before the Court of Appeal reflected the decision. By the time the case arrived at the Supreme Court in the fall of 2014, More than ten The couples joined the lawsuit.
Mr. ObergeFell says that he and Mr. Arthur fought not only for the right to summon each other as a “husband”, but also for the sake of dignity-for themselves, and for husbands of the same sex who did not recognize the love of law.
“John wanted to die a married man,” says Mr. Obergville in an interview on the phone with the screen. “I wanted the right to call myself widow it and means exactly what it means to everyone.”
Mr. ObergeFell won this right in 2015, two years after the death of Mr. Arthur. When the court announced its decision, Mr. ObergeFell He said He expressed his hope that the country will soon reach a day when “gay marriage” became simply known as “marriage”. Today, it celebrates the steps made by the United States towards this vision. A large majority -68 % of Americans-they say that marriages of the same sex should be legal, according to the polling poll from Gallop.
However, Mr. Obergville and other people and activists LGBTQ I concern that equality of marriage is still on a shaky land. This year, some Republican lawmakers submitted legislation for the state asking the Supreme Court to break its previous decision as defective.
In the next interview, which was released for length and clarity, Mr. ObergeFell shares his opinions about the progress made by the country towards equality and what this attracted moment in American policy for the future of LGBTQ+rights may mean.
How was the case in the center of the Historical Supreme Court case and education?
unexpected. Aquarium in some respects. But also, such joy is to be part of something that made a big difference in our nation, as you know, had such a positive impact on many people all over the country. O boy, she has a great experience.
How to describe that experience?
As you know, it was really an opportunity to meet people all over the country. While the situation was going, people were getting to know me, and they would come to me and wanted to shake my hand, share a story, share pictures, and tell me about their loved ones, about their husband, about their partner, about their child.
It was a gift every time it happens. The fact that my father prevents me and says, “Jim, can we take a picture of you with our child? Because thanks to you and other people in this case, we know that our child can marry the person who loves them, whatever that.” I had brought me out strange children. They never went out to anyone before, but they went out to me.
How is you now, to be reflected in this case after 10 years?
For me, he returns to part of my comments before the Supreme Court after the decision: “You know, I look forward to the day when a marriage of the same sex or gay marriage is not just a marriage.” In many ways that happened because people around the country – family members, neighbors and co -workers – know someone who married a person because of this decision. So it became just a marriage. I love it.
Frankly, it was a really easy decision. The most important person in my life was the person I loved more, died. We wanted to marry since the mid -nineties.
We had to do all these things that millions of other people had to think or think about. Forced to go to another country for a marriage license. Discover how a man dies without any physical abilities to another country to do something, again, that millions of others have taken a minor from him. So we met this lawyer, Al -Jerehardstein, and said: “You know, you are a problem comrades. When John dies, his last record as a person, and his last records as Ohio Table, will be wrong. Because Ohio will completely ignore your legal marriage in Maryland in his death certificate.”
We just wanted to exist. John wanted to die a married man, and wanted him to die a married man. I wanted this right to summon myself widow him and make him mean exactly what it means to anyone else. We wanted to use her husband’s word and take her, I mean what everyone else thinks about in this country when they say the word of the husband.
How was this legal protection not possessing?
Something can happen at any time. Car accident. Hospital staff can completely ignore the husband, although they have legal marriage in another state. They can ignore that husband, prevent that husband from seeing a person who suffers from medical hardship, and they can absolutely refuse to take any direction from this legal husband. This is just another issue that people do not think.
The same with a couple of the same sex with children. Well, if this condition only allows one of the parents in this birth certificate, what happens if this father dies? What happens to that child? What happens to the relationship with the only father they knew? Marriage, legal recognition of marriage, has such an effect on many parts of our lives. But frankly, John and me, everything was about dignity.
In the latest opinion poll, 68 % of adults said they support gay marriage. What do you think of this transformation?
Well, it makes me happy. I can also say that I am not surprised. Because it is like anything, when there is a part of society that many people do not know – as you know, they cannot say, “Oh, I have friends, a family member, or a married person. Or I have a friend who coincides with being [transgender]”When people cannot say these pictures, these ideas are used about what is like people.
So with gay marriage, it has become part of all our societies. The “other” has shrunk from it. So yes, this makes me happy. Do I hope that the percentage that supports equality in marriage is higher? Of course, but I will take every step in the right direction we get in this country.
Some Republican legislators and the Supreme Court judges have indicated the desire to return to this ruling. I wonder about this, as well as the recent Supreme Court’s decision regarding transit rights.
You know, what’s all for me is, “Why?” How does any strange marriage affect or how does any strange marriage affect another person or another marriage? no. I just don’t understand it.
Unfortunately, a transit society carries the burden of many hatred in our nation. Attempts to prohibit life revitalization care. A prohibition on the use of pigeons, prohibits transient children who exercise, all these things, as they do not help the nation. They do not make life better for anyone. All they do is to make life much worse for a transient society and the people who love them, for their parents.
I do not understand that this need for “other” people, to cancel people, to attack people because they differ in a way that does not matter. We are all human.
Do you have anything to say to people trying to re -conduct gay marriage?
I just want to remind them that, in the history of our nation, people escaped from the ancient world to come to the new world for religious freedom because they were persecuted in the ancient world because of their religious beliefs. This is what is supposed to be religious freedom in this country, where you can worship the way you want in your home, in the place of your worship, but you do not use your religious beliefs to persecute others.
A few years ago, legislators-with the support of the two parties-have written some protection for couples of the same sex and husbands between races in the law, while respecting the law of marriage. Does this calm down any of your concerns?
Yes and no. I mean, I love this act was transferred to the law, and the fact that it was a wonderful thing. But if ObergeFell is turned, even with the respect of the applicable marriage, we no longer have equality in marriage. Respecting the law of marriage simply all countries requires identifying all marriages. But again, people who live in Ohio and other places of marriage license can be deprived and the right to marry in the state they call home. This is not equality of marriage.
What will you say to couples of the same sex who move in the current climate?
I and John were what I like to call quiet activists. We lived our lives publicly. Everyone we met, whether it was a neighbor, a stranger, or a workshop, knew that we were a couple. I think we have helped change hearts and minds. I chose to believe that we did. Because we were only ourselves. We were open, and we helped break some of these harmful concepts. So be active in any way you work for you. Be authentic.
And make sure that you are voting because voting is the only way we can make sure that our elected officials actually see every person in this country as part of the “people”. If we do not vote, we allow others to determine our value, value, and rights as a human being.
