Jim Obergefell to give lecture on activism at Columbia College

Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage, Obergefell v. Hodges, will speak Thursday at Columbia College.

The lecture begins at 5:30 p.m. in Launer Auditorium, 901 Rogers St., and is free to the public. Obergefell will draw on his experiences at the center of the 2015 case in his talk, “Purposeful, ethical activism: Navigating complex moral terrain in a divided society.”

Obergefell has described himself as an “accidental activist,” according The Associated Press.

In 2013, Obergefell and his partner, John Arthur, who had ALS, quickly arranged to be married after the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act.

The act had denied federal recognition of same-sex marriages, meaning Arthur’s death certificate would list his marital status as “unmarried,” and Obergefell would not be legally considered a “surviving spouse.”

According to AP, because they could not marry in their home state of Ohio, the couple “boarded a plane to Maryland and, because of Arthur’s fragile health, married on the tarmac.”

When they learned Ohio would refuse to acknowledge the marriage and would not list Obergefell on Arthur’s death certificate, they took legal action.

Initially, they went to court seeking a guarantee that Obergefell would be listed as the spouse on Arthur’s death certificate, and their request was granted. The state of Ohio appealed the decision, and the case made its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court for review.

Ten years later, the case is still a celebrated victory for the LGBTQ+ community, yet it again finds itself in the hands of the Supreme Court.

Kim Davis, a former clerk from Kentucky, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court in July to revisit their decision in Obergefell v. Hodges after escalating her appeal from the lower courts.

Davis claimed she was exercising her First Amendment right to practice religion when she refused to issue a marriage license to gay couple David Ermold and David Moore in 2015. The justices will consider her petition at their private conference on Nov. 7.

In the years following Arthur’s death in 2013, Obergefell transformed his “accidental activism” into what he now calls “purposeful activism.”

Currently, he’s involved in several projects, organizations and boards, dedicating himself to advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and civil rights. He co-founded Equality Vines, “the world’s first cause-based wine label,” and co-authored a book about the case.

He is an executive producer for JustMarried, a multimedia project that aims to save and share the stories of important figures in the fight for marriage equality.

Thursday’s event will be the 20th annual Althea W. and John A. Schiffman Ethics in Society Lecture, presented by Columbia College. Past speakers include Desmond Meade last fall, Heather McGhee last spring, and Kwame Anthony Appiah in 2023.