Today marks the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage across the nation.
Here’s a little history lesson about the lawsuit that led to the historic ruling.
Ten years ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled that marriage equality is the law of the land.
Love is love. pic.twitter.com/JC6fnuMSgI — Democrats (@TheDemocrats) June 26, 2025
In 2013, Jim Obergefell had been with his partner John Arthur for more than 20 years, never dreaming they would ever get married.
But the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in United States v. Windsor struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. That decision required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages conducted in states where marriage equality was legal.
However, the same ruling allowed states to refuse to legalize such unions.
At that point in time, the couple was living in Ohio, which did not recognize same-sex marriage. The couple wanted to travel to Maryland (where marriage equality was legal) to get married, but Arthur had been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) two years before and could no longer walk or move much of his body.
So friends and family got together to pay for for a medically equipped plane to get the couple to Maryland where they were married on the tarmac of the Baltimore Washington International airport.
Upon returning home, they found Ohio would not recognize Obergefell as Arthur’s surviving spouse. They sued the state to win that recognition, and though Arthur died three months later, the lawsuit lived on — all the way to the Supreme Court.
In his opinion for the majority, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the right to marry for all couples, whether gay or straight, is grounded in the clauses of the U.S. Constitution that protect liberty and guarantee equal protection of the law:
“No union is more profound that marriage for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than they once were. “
“We hold that same sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry in all states.”
Jim Obergefell, plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case that legalized gay marriage in all 50 states, reflects on the decision 10 years later and the LGBTQ community’s current civil rights fight. [image or embed]
— NPR (@npr.org) June 26, 2025 at 5:16 AM
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, there are now challenges being posed to Obergefell following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
But today, I choose to celebrate.
I’ve been with my hubby Michael for nearly 31 years. We married in on our 9th anniversary as a couple in October 2003 in Toronto – before marriage equality became a reality in the U.S. And I am thankful every day for that.
Note – Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage in May 2004.
When our plaintiff Jim Obergefell lost his husband John, he simply wanted to be listed as his spouse on John’s death certificate.
Ten years ago today, Jim won at the Supreme Court in our monumental case, Obergefell v. Hodges, that brought marriage equality for same-sex couples to all 50 states. [image or embed] — ACLU (@aclu.org) June 26, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Also – on this same date in 2003 the high court struck down so-called ‘sodomy’ laws (Lawrence v. Texas), and in 2013, struck down the Defense of Marriage Act which blocked the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage (United States v. Windsor).
#OnThisDay in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage, legalized it in all fifty states, and required states to honor out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses in the case Obergefell v. Hodges. pic.twitter.com/okA00Jx8Vx
— American Bar Association (@ABAesq) June 26, 2025
Discover more from The Randy Report
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.