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Federal Judge Orders Ohio to Recognize Gay Couple's Marriage

This article was gleaned from the following link;

http://www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2013/07/22/federal-judge-orders-ohio-recognize-gay-couples-marriage

James Obergefell and John Arthur will be listed as married on Arthur's death certificate, and can be buried beside one another when Arthur succumbs to ALS.

BY Sunnivie Brydum

July 22 2013 7:32 PM ET

          

A federal judge ordered Ohio state officials Monday to recognize a gay couple's marriage performed in Maryland last week, clearing the way for the men to be listed as married on the terminally ill husband's death certificate, according to Chris Geidner at BuzzFeed. 

"The end result here and now is that the local Ohio Registrar of death certificates is hereby ORDERED not to accept for recording a death certificate for John Arthur that does not record Mr. Arthur’s status at death as 'married' and James Obergefell as his ‘surviving spouse,'" wrote U.S. District Magistrate Timothy Black Monday, according to the ruling published at BuzzFeed. 

Arthur and Obergefell have been together for more than 20 years, and on July 11, the Cincinnati-based couple took a specially equipped medical jet to marry on the tarmac of Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Ohio still bans same-sex marriage, but the couple couldn't wait for the law to change, because Arthur suffers from advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal neurological disease. Arthur was diagnosed with ALS 26 months ago, and is "certain to die soon," according to the judge's ruling declaring the couple legally wed. 

The couple filed suit against Ohio Gov. John Kasich in his official capacity Friday, also naming Ohio attorney general Mike Dewine and the Cincinnati doctor responsible for approving death certificates as defendants, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. The judge's ruling will allow the couple to be buried alongside one another on Arthur's family plot, since Arthur's grandfather legally stipulated that only immediate family and their spouses can be buried on the family plot at Spring Grove Cemetery. 

"We've been beside each other for 20 years," Obergefell testified in court today, according to the Enquirer. "We deserve to be beside each other in perpetuity."

"This is not a complicated case," wrote Black in his decision. "…Ohio law has historically and unambiguously provided that the validity of the marriage is determined by whether it complies with the law of the jurisdiction where it was celebrated."

Black's ruling Monday also indicated that Ohio's ban on marriage equality, approved by voters in 2004, "likely violate[s] the U.S. Constitution… by treating lawful same-sex marriages differently than it treats lawful opposite sex marriages." However, Black's ruling made clear that his decision applies only to Obergefell and Arthur, and not all Ohio couples legally married in states that embrace marriage equality.

Polyamory

Poly isn't for everyone. I was in a poly relationship for 5 years. We lived as a poly fidelous triad. One of the most important rules to live by is absolute communications. This means that everyone involved in this relationship needs to communicate with all of the other partners. Secrets within the relationship is a poison pill. Second rule, live your poly, not someone else's version of it. You will find a plethora of people quick to point out that your relationship is not "true" poly because you don't do this or that. Live your chosen dynamic as you see fit. Third rule, see the first rule, communications. The one item that fosters jealousy among partners is the unknown, the secrets, the deceptions and the lies. These will quickly bring your relationship to a crumbling halt. Don't use poly as an excuse to cheat. Any new partners added to the family should be introduced to the other partners prior to commencing a relationship with that person. Don't use poly to foster swinging. Contrary to what you may have read, poly is not soft swinging. And finally, poly is not poly. Polyamory is not polygamy. While it may sound similar, they are different in many ways. Polygamy is where one lives as married to more than one spouse. Polyamory is loving more than one. Generally (not always) poly folks don't live as married to more than one spouse, but committed to more than one loving, consenting adults. I've researched alternate lifestyles for many years. I've experienced alternate lifestyles for over 37 years. I am not an expert, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.