In a press conference held at the Ohio Statehouse on October 17, House Democrats joined LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Equality Ohio and LGBTQ+ civil rights activist Jim Obergefell in announcing plans to introduce the Marriage Equality Act — which would update the Ohio Revised Code to protect all marriages.
Currently the Ohio Revised Code outlines, “A marriage may only be entered into by one man and one woman.”
State Reps. Jessica E. Miranda (D, Forest Park) and Tavia Galonski (D, Akron) plan to co-sponsor the bill, which they said will safeguard the right to marry both for LGBTQ+ Ohioans and interracial couples.
“Historically, marriage bans have been utilized to deny interracial and same-sex couples from protecting their partners and acting in their partner’s best interests,” Miranda said. “Today, we recognize that history, and work to fortify the right to marriage for all Ohioans.”
Rep. Dontaveous Darrells (D, Columbus) also joined LGBTQ+ advocates in support of the bill, which would also enshrine the right to marriage for interracial couples affirmed in the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia.
“The very foundation of American families is in jeopardy,” Darrells said. “And in Ohio, we aspire to be a place that welcomes all people, all families, prioritizing people over politics.”
“We have seen rights we thought were protected for nearly 50 years taken away,” Miranda added — referencing the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and banned abortion care in the United States.
In the Dobbs ruling, conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly mentioned overturning Obergefell v. Hodges — the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case which federally legalized same-sex marriage.
“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence and Obergefell,” Thomas wrote.
Overturning the U.S. Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas would ban and criminalize specific queer sex acts between consenting adults.
Jim Obergefell — the named plaintiff in Obergefell v. Hodges — also spoke to the significance of the bill.
Obergefell and his late husband, John, were married on the tarmac awaiting a chartered medical helicopter, just months before John died of ALS.
Obergefell explained that the two considered marriage in the 1990s, before same-sex marriage was recognized in the United States.
“We could have a symbolic ceremony, but John and I were not interested in ‘symbolic,’” Obergefell said. “We wanted marriage. We wanted our relationship to be recognized in the eyes of the government, but Ohio and federal laws made that impossible.”
“We wanted [John’s] death certificate to say he died a married man,” Obergefell told reporters. “So, for us, it was always about respect, about existing in the eyes of the State of Ohio.”
Maria Bruno — public policy director at Equality Ohio — said Obergefell currently overrides the same-sex marriage ban in Ohio’s constitution. However, if the case were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, Ohioans would lose the right to marry in the place they live.
“We cannot take federal protections for granted, as we never know when precedent will be overturned” added Rep. Miranda. “In order to protect marriage equality, we must update the Ohio revised code and enshrine the right to marriage for all Ohioans.”
Miranda also told reporters that House Democrats are committed to introducing a strongly bipartisan piece of legislation.
“[Republican lawmakers] have offered some feedback that just came in this morning,” Miranda said. “So we’re continuing to have those conversations in good faith to see if we can make this something that will be bipartisan in nature.”
The Marriage Equality bill has not yet been introduced into this 135th General Assembly. 🔥
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