A male gay couple recently married in
Maryland is suing the state of Ohio to recognize their marriage.
Jim Obergefell and John Arthur of
Cincinnati married last week aboard a medical transport plane parked
off a Baltimore airport runway. Arthur received a diagnosis of
amyotropic lateral sclerosis, or ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's
Disease), a neurological disease, 26 months earlier and is now
bedridden and receiving hospice care. Friends and family contributed
the $12,700 needed to charter the medically-equipped plane.
(Related: Dying
gay man's final wish: To marry his partner.)
The couple has filed a federal lawsuit
to have their marriage recognized in Ohio.
“We do hope to build from here and
have this be the first step towards marriage equality in Ohio but for
now, we just want to make sure that when John dies, the death record
shows him as married,” the couple's attorney Al
Gerhardstein told WKSU.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has
vowed to defend the law in court.
“My job as the attorney general is to
defend the constitutionality of Ohio law and that's what we will do,”
DeWine said.
A federal judge has scheduled an
expedited hearing for Monday at 1:30PM.
In 2004, Ohio voters approved a
constitutional amendment which prevents the state from recognizing
any relationship other than a heterosexual marriage.