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John,
When I first met my husband John, we were like most couples. We had good times and bad, rough times and lean ones, and we definitely had been together in sickness and in health. For more than 20 years, we loved each other, were devoted to each other and were a family. We were like millions of other couples across the globe. But we lacked one thing: a legal document that enshrined our rights as a married couple.
Then John was diagnosed with the terminal illness of Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). At that time, there were some states that allowed same-sex marriages. Our home state of Ohio was not one of them, so as John fought his illness, we got married inside a medical jet on a Maryland airport runway. Saying “I do” was the happiest moment of our life together. We would finally exist as a lawfully married couple, and John could die a married man.
When we got back to Ohio, we learned the state would not recognize our marriage on John’s death certificate at the time he died. John and I decided to take the fight to court. We were lawfully married. We deserved dignity and respect. Couples like us also deserved the same rights and responsibilities as any other married couple. I took this case, Obergefell v. Hodges, all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.
It was a hard-won victory, but on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to marry and to have those unions – and families – recognized throughout the nation. It was a wonderful day, but John did not live to see it. He died in 2013.
I thought that would be the end of our fight for justice. But seven years later, I - and millions of LGTBQ folks and interracial couples - are facing uncertainty as the Respect for Marriage Act hangs in the balance.
Those who believe in justice throughout our country are under attack.
The Respect for Marriage Act would formally repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as between a man and woman. The new bill will require states to recognize marriages - both same-sex marriages and interracial marriages - legally performed in other states. Those who do not recognize those marriages will face civil action. Last week, Congress passed the Respect for Marriage Act with 47 House Republicans joining their Democratic colleagues in support of the bill.
As the law moves to the Senate, Democrats are on board. Eight Republicans oppose it. Marco Rubio said it was “a stupid waste of time.” The rest of the Republicans are undecided. We need just five Republican votes to get a filibuster-proof majority.
Sign the petition to demand the Senate pass the Respect for Marriage Act.
The vote is expected to be held in the Senate next week. Passing the Respect for Marriage Act is something more than 70 percent of people in the United State agree on according to a Gallup poll.
To be treated fairly and equally is at the core of this country’s founding principles. I am running for State House in Ohio for the same reasons I took my fight to the Supreme Court - I believe in justice for this country, in good times and bad, sickness and health, ‘til death do us part.
Jim Obergefell
Candidate State Representative, HD-89
