A gay couple suing to have their out-of-state marriage recognized
by the state of Ohio received an outpouring of support over the
weekend.
The couple, James Obergefell and John Arthur of Cincinnati,
married aboard a medical transport plane parked on the tarmac of a
Baltimore airport. Arthur is dying from Lou Gehrig's Disease and
would like to be buried in a family plot next to his husband. A
federal judge has ordered Ohio officials to recognize their valid
Maryland marriage. A temporary injunction allows Arthur to be listed
as married on his death certificate, with Obergefell listed as his
surviving spouse.
(Related: Dying
gay man's final wish: To marry his partner.)
Over the weekend, the group Support
Marriage Equality Ohio presented the couple with 200
congratulatory cards, a scrap book of memories and a 95-pound gift
basked filled with products from dozens of gay-friendly companies.
On Saturday, supporters held a candlelight vigil in downtown
Cincinnati in honor of Obergefell and Arthur.
“It's beyond words,” Obergefell
said. “We've been touched by people from across the world. …
This is just unbelievable.”
In a Facebook post, he added: “The love and support you've shown
us is incredible, and we can never adequately express how much it
means to us. It's amazing to have thousands upon thousands of people
in our corner, cheering us on!”
“We're trying to show them how much we care about what [Arthur]
spent a part of the rest of his life doing for us,” organizer Adam
Hoover, 19, told
Cincinnati.com. “What they did can lead to equal marriage for
everyone.”
Ohio officials have vowed to defend the state's marriage laws and
2004 constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual
couples.