Obama Presidential Center will commemorate landmark same-sex marriage decision
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Jim Obergefell and John Arthur's 2013 Maryland marriage certificate. Photo: Courtesy of the Obama Presidential Center.
The Obama Presidential Center will display artifacts from the landmark same-sex marriage decision handed down during President Obama's second term when the center opens in Chicago next year.
Flashback: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on June 26, 2015, in Obergefell v. Hodges that marriage is a fundamental right and that states must license and recognize same-sex marriages.
Driving the news: On the 10th anniversary of the decision, the OPC announced it will display the lead plaintiff, Jim Obergefell's, wedding ring, the bow tie he wore on the day of the Supreme Court decision, and Obergefell and John Arthur's official marriage certificate.
Catch up quick: As Obergefell's life partner was suffering from ALS, Obergefell needed their home state of Ohio to officially recognize their relationship in order to make critical end-of-life decisions and receive benefits due to a spouse.
- Arthur and Obergefell had married in Maryland two years prior, but Ohio refused to recognize the union.
What they're saying: "It was a huge moment," Obama said in a video released by the OPC. "I knew the decision would have an enormous impact on the lives of so many Americans who just wanted their love to be recognized the same as everyone else's."
- "Sitting in that courtroom on June 26, 2015, was crazy. I burst into tears. For the first time in my life as an out gay man, I felt like an equal American," Obergefell said in the same video.
State of play: The artifacts will be on loan to the OPC for more than a year and part of an exhibition "that speaks to progressive activism and inclusive policies during the Obama administration," spokesperson Emily Bittner tells Axios.
What's next: The Obama Presidential Center is scheduled to open in Jackson Park next year.