Biography

Jim Obergefell was the named plaintiff in Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark Supreme Court marriage equality case. Jim and his husband John, who died of ALS in 2013, sued Ohio to have their Maryland marriage listed on John’s impending death certificate, leading to the Supreme Court and nationwide marriage equality in June, 2015. Jim is now an LGBTQ activist, speaker with APA Agency, and coauthor of Love Wins with Debbie Cenziper (William Morrow).

Schedule

2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
State Capitol, House Chamber
Book Talk
Love Wins

3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Barnes & Noble Bookselling Tent
Book Signing

Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality

The fascinating and very moving story of the lovers, lawyers, judges and activists behind the groundbreaking Supreme Court case that led to one of the most important, national civil rights victories in decades—the legalization of same-sex marriage.

In June 2015, the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage the law in all fifty states in a decision as groundbreaking as Roe v Wade and Brown v Board of Education. Through insider accounts and access to key players, this definitive account reveals the dramatic and previously unreported events behind Obergefell v Hodges and the lives at its center. This is aS story of law and love—and a promise made to a dying man who wanted to know how he would be remembered.

Twenty years ago, Jim Obergefell and John Arthur fell in love in Cincinnati, Ohio, a place where gays were routinely picked up by police and fired from their jobs. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government had to provide married gay couples all the benefits offered to straight couples. Jim and John—who was dying from ALS—flew to Maryland, where same-sex marriage was legal. But back home, Ohio refused to recognize their union, or even list Jim's name on John's death certificate. Then they met Al Gerhardstein, a courageous attorney who had spent nearly three decades advocating for civil rights and who now saw an opening for the cause that few others had before him.

This forceful and deeply affecting narrative—Part Erin Brockovich, part Milk, part Still Alice—chronicles how this grieving man and his lawyer, against overwhelming odds, introduced the most important gay rights case in U.S. history. It is an urgent and unforgettable account that will inspire readers for many years to come.