In a recent interview, Jim Obergefell
said that he's concerned a future Supreme Court will roll back
marriage equality.
Obergefell is the lead plaintiff in
Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 ruling that found gay and
lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry, striking down
state laws and constitutional amendments that defined marriage as
solely a heterosexual union.
Wednesday was the fourth anniversary of
the ruling.
(Related: Trump
speaks at conference opposed to LGBT rights on anniversary of
marriage equality.)
Speaking with LGBT blog Queerty,
Obergefell was asked what “has it been like to see the repeated
attacks on LGBTQ rights” since the decision.
“It’s disheartening. It’s scary.
It’s disappointing. It’s frightening. It angers me,” he
answered. “I just don’t understand why there’s this group of
people who get joy out of attacking people who are different from
them. I don’t care what someone’s holy book says or what their
interpretation of their holy book says about me as a gay man. We’re
not a Christian country. We are a country of laws that are supposed
to be blind to religion, and we’re supposed to have the right to
religious freedom, which also means that I can’t use my religion to
force laws on someone else. It disgusts me that there are people out
there claiming that everything they’re doing, they’re doing out
of their right for religious freedom. They’re demanding something
that’s the antithesis of it.”
“Under the Obama administration, so
much progress had happened. This country was moving in the right
direction for so many different minority groups. Now here we have an
administration that is doing everything in its power to reverse
course and to take the entire country – not just in regards to
LGBTQ rights but minority rights of all sorts – back to the 19th
century. Those weren’t the good old days. They never were the good
old days.”
“Do you fear the court could roll
back marriage equality?” Obergefell was asked.
“Yes and no. It isn’t just the
Supreme Court that this administration has illegitimately stacked –
Merrick Garland, anyone? – but it’s courtrooms across the nation
that this administration is filling with people who are opponents of
equality. It scares me how many judges around the country have been
appointed by this administration,” he
answered.
“Where I take a little bit of comfort
is that if a case reached the Supreme Court and it was the same court
we have now, even though Chief Justice Roberts was against marriage
equality in our ruling, he’s a bigger supporter of precedents –
not taking away rights that have previously been granted by the court
– than he is about his feelings about marriage equality not being
constitutional. That’s the only thing that gives me hope. If it
came before the court, I really hope the Chief Justice would flip and
be on the side of keeping marriage equality. If the court changes,
all bets are off. I’m really going to be scared if this president
gets to nominate someone else,” he continued.