University of Guam President Dr. Robert A. Underwood presents the 26th Presidential Lecture featuring marriage equality activist Jim Obergefell, who is the named plaintiff in Obergefell v. Hodges, a case on same-sex marriage currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The lecture will be held on Friday, May 22 at 5:30 p.m. at the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences (CLASS) Lecture Hall on the UOG Campus. His lecture is entitled: “Taking the Fight for Marriage Equality from a Tarmac to the Supreme Court.” The public is invited to attend.

“Whatever your thoughts and opinions are on same-sex marriage, Mr. Obergefell is a person of historical significance for the United States,” said UOG President Dr. Underwood. “The Supreme Court’s ruling on his case will affect policy and public perception for years to come. The University is pleased to have him as a Presidential Lecturer and Commencement Speaker.”

About the Speaker

Jim Obergefell was born and raised in Sandusky, Ohio and moved to Cincinnati to attend the University of Cincinnati, earning a degree in Secondary Education and German. Jim taught high school German before leaving Cincinnati for graduate school in College Student Personnel at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. During a weekend visit to Cincinnati in the winter of 1992, Jim met and fell in love with John Arthur.

In the spring of 2011, John was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive neurological disease with no cure and a prognosis of death within 2-5 years of diagnosis. Jim became John's full-time caregiver. 

When the Windsor decision was announced in June 2013, striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), John and Jim decided to get married. John was in at-home hospice care at the time, and in order to marry, they had to charter a medical jet to fly to Maryland, where they were married on the Tarmac of the Baltimore Washington International Airport.

After returning to Ohio, John and Jim decided to file suit in U.S. Federal Court against the State of Ohio to demand recognition of their lawful, out-of-state marriage on John's death certificate at the time of death. A judge issued a temporary injunction requiring the State of Ohio to recognize their marriage on John's death certificate.

John died in October, 2013, and his death certificate accurately reflects his marital status and Jim as John's surviving spouse.

When the injunction was made permanent by in December, 2013, the State of Ohio appealed to the Sixth District Court of Appeals. In November, 2014, the Sixth District Court of Appeals ruled against John and Jim, as well as the plaintiffs from five other cases in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee, setting the stage for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. In January, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear all six cases, consolidating the cases into one known as Obergefell v. Hodges. 

Jim had his day at the Supreme Court during oral arguments for Obergefell v. Hodges on April 28, 2015. The court heard arguments on two issues: the right to marry, and the right to recognition of lawful, out-of-state marriages. A historic decision is expected in June 2015.