Ohioans and Athenians give us their thoughts on the Supreme Court marriage ruling.
Heather Moyer, Ohio University Class of 2000, spent Friday morning crying in her bedroom.
When news came pouring in on the Supreme Court’s blog that same-sex couples had been granted the equal right to marry, she was shocked and overwhelmed with joy.
“To think how far we’ve come since I came out my freshman year at OU blows me away,” Moyer said, now a communications professional in Washington, D.C. “There’s a lot more work to be done for equality, but today we can take a pause to celebrate.”
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Moyer remembers when mock same-sex weddings were held on College Green and how, as president of OU’s Open Doors LGBT organization, she pushed to create a formal LGBT office on campus.
But the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in favor of national same-sex marriages, she said, has “advanced our fight for equality one more step.”
Individual state rulings on same-sex marriages led to wide expansions of the right over the past two years, opening 37 states to equal marriage before Friday. Justice Anthony Kennedy led the Supreme Court’s majority opinion, while Chief Justice John Roberts lead the dissent, criticizing the majority for writing their own social perspectives into the Constitution.
Following the opinion deliveries, Roberts invited same-sex couples to celebrate without celebrating the Constitution, as it had “nothing to do with today’s decision.”
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The U.S. Supreme Court Building’s steps were flooded with LGBT members, allies and activists praising the opinion Friday morning and afternoon.
Washington, D.C. performing artist and Ohio native Jeff Brockwell was outside the Supreme Court when the decision was delivered, waving a red equality flag alongside his husband over the lunch hour.
“We are so excited to be able to share this day with the hundreds of people celebrating here,” said Brockwell, who legally married his husband in the District in 2010. “We weren’t sure we’d see this day so soon.”
OU LGBT Center Director delfin bautista said they see Friday’s ruling as a long-awaited victory for the OU community.
“Really this is a healing and transformational energizer to keep up the fight for equality, and a legal affirmation that we are not second-class citizens,” bautista said. “We celebrate tonight, but we continue the inclusion effort tomorrow.”
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Moyer said she previously hesitated to situate her life in Ohio since she couldn’t be legally married to her wife there.
“In the past, we had to think about what jobs to consider and where to make our home, because we wanted to be where we were legally recognized,” Moyer said, a Dayton native. “Hopefully members of this community will feel comfortable wherever they call home now.”
All couples who wish to be married in Athens can do so at the Athens County Clerk of Courts marriage license issuing office, 1 S. Court St. #4.
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