A federal judge has ruled in favor of a dying man and his husband, requiring that Ohio recognize their out-of-state same-sex marriage though the state has not legalized gay marriage.
John Arthur, 47, has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, reports USA Today. He and his husband, James Obergefell, filed a suit last week to allow Obergefell to be listed as Arthur’s surviving spouse and for his marital status to be noted on Arthur’s death certificate.
The couple also sought to be buried next to each other, a desire which had been denied them by a cemetery and the state until the ruling.
The Cincinnati couple recently married on an airport tarmac in Maryland before flying back to Cincinnati, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. They lived together for 20 years before their union became official about two weeks ago.
Though U.S. District Court Judge Tim Black emphasized that his ruling was specific to Arthur and Obergefell, Ohio gay marriage supporters have been encouraged by this step toward same-sex rights in the state.
“I think this is going to open the door to create a large number of same-sex couples married in other states,” said the couple’s lawyer, Al Gerhardstein.
Image: WikiCommons
