Ohio has had its share of lawsuits related to the consequences and harms a ban on same-sex marriage causes, but for the first time, today in federal court six couples are directly attacking the ban itself — demanding the right to marry.Â
Previous lawsuits have focused on important issues of recognizing same-sex marriages after death for legal and financial benefits, or for birth certificates of a couple’s children, or for recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages, or for the ability to enroll in a health care plan. But today’s lawsuit aims to overturn as unconstitutional Ohio’s 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment.
Lead plaintiff Michelle Gibson “has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair. Other plaintiffs have elderly parents and grandparents who cannot travel,” the law firm arguing the case, Gerhardstein & Branch, announced in a press statement.
“The couples in this case are in love and deeply committed,” lead counsel Jennifer Branch says. “They want to get married. Some have been engaged for years but cannot marry here, at home, surrounded by family and friends, because Ohio forbids it. Ohio’s unequal treatment of these couples is unconstitutional and cannot continue. Nobody’s constitutional rights can be voted away.”
Gibson “and her partner Deb Meem have been together since 1995, when they met as professors at the University of Cincinnati, and want to get married,” Cincinnati.com reports.
Gibson has multiple sclerosis and can no longer walk, making it difficult to travel to get married in a state where it’s legal. “As I get more and more disabled, I start to think about what I want to leave in the world, what kind of legacy I want to leave,” Gibson said. “This allows me to put something out into the world, to sort of say, ‘We’re in love. We deserve to have that love recognized, and our families recognized in the world in the same way that any other family would be recognized.'”
Image by Jeff Hirsh via Twitter