James Obergefell

James "Jim" Obergefell is the named plaintiff in Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court case that established the constitutional right to marriage for same-sex couples nationwide. Obergefell and his partner John Arthur had been together for two decades when Arthur was diagnosed with ALS. In July 2013 they flew to Maryland on a medically equipped plane to marry legally, but Ohio refused to list Jim as the surviving spouse on Arthur's death certificate. Arthur died in October 2013. Jim's lawsuit reached the Supreme Court, which ruled 5 to 4 in June 2015 that states must license and recognize same-sex marriages. He has since become a prominent advocate and author.