“Euphoria.” That’s how Jim Obergefell describes his reaction on 26 June 2015, when, “after a lifetime of feeling less than, of feeling outside of society”, the supreme court affirmed the right to same-sex marriage in Obergefell v Hodges.
The landmark civil rights case for which Obergefell served as lead plaintiff capped a string of court victories for LGBTQ+ people in the US, including a ban on criminalizing gay sex and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It appeared to signal a new era of tolerance and civil rights in the US.
