Less than two weeks after Ohio University hosted the plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges, the event was mentioned on the floor of the U.S. Senate by Sen. Sherrod Brown.
James Obergefell, the named plaintiff in the marriage equality case, was in Washington, D.C., to meet with several senators regarding the upcoming oral argument in the case. When meeting with Sen. Brown prior to his floor speech, Obergefell discussed his time in Athens and conveyed to Senator Brown the impact that the program had on Ohio University students.
In Athens, Obergerfell explained how he and John Arthur flew to Maryland and were married on the tarmac–because Author was too ill to travel by car to a state where same-sex marriage was legal. Arthur died just three months after their marriage, and Obergefell still fears the state of Ohio will remove his name as spouse from Arthur’s death certificate.
“When I was talking to Jim earlier in my office, he had made a speech in Athens Ohio to Ohio University students,” Brown said. “He told me most of them couldn’t understand why state laws would prohibit somebody from marrying the person whom they love. They couldn’t understand why the state government—the Ohio state government—would spend my tax dollars and Jim’s tax dollars…and the tax dollars of all of us to fight this court battle so that Jim’s marriage would be denied.”
Panel applauds Jim Obergefell. From left, LGBT Family Law Attorney Hannah Botkin-Doty, delfin bautista, Director of the Ohio University LGBT Center, and case plaintiffs James Obergefell, Kelly Noe and Kelly McCracken, and Ruby.
The March 31 program with the plaintiffs at Ohio University was co-hosted by the Ohio University Center for Law, Justice & Culture, the LGBT Center, Department of Political Science, the Department of English, Ohio University Women’s Center, and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. The event, “Marriage Equality at the Supreme Court: The Plaintiffs and Their Stories,”was moderated by CLJC Pre-Law Specialist Larry Hayman and featured Columbus-based LGBT Family Law Attorney Hannah Botkin-Doty; delfin bautista, Director of the Ohio University LGBT Center; and case plaintiffs Obergefell, Kelly Noe and Kelly McCracken. Noe and McCracken brought their toddler, Ruby, noting that concerns over her shared care and potential custody issues brought them into the suit.
The Obergefell v. Hodges case is scheduled to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on April 28, 2015. A decision is expected in late June.
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