COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio LGBTQ+ advocates will soon start collecting signatures for their equal rights proposals as the U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to review their same-sex marriage decision.
It's been 10 years since SCOTUS decided in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry, which legalized same-sex marriage across the country — including Ohio.
But in the state constitution, "Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized."
This means that if the justices overturn Obergefell, same-sex marriage would be illegal in Ohio once again.
"Some people hear equal rights and think, 'Well, I already have all my rights. I have what I need,'" Lis Regula with Ohio Equal Rights (OER) said. "That's not necessarily the case for everybody."
Kim Davis, a former clerk in Kentucky who was jailed for several days in 2015 after denying a same-sex couple their marriage license, asked the high court Monday to take up a case that would overturn that decision.
In 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas said that the Supreme Court of the United States should reconsider landmark cases such as Obergefell.
Regula knows he can’t change what the court will do, he said, but there are other options.
"What Ohioans do have control over is being able to put forward ballot initiatives that help to protect our state, help to protect our community," he said.
OER just got one step closer to enshrining marriage equality into the state constitution.
On Friday, Attorney General Dave Yost certified two separate constitutional amendment proposals: one would remove a provision from the state Constitution that prohibits same-sex marriage, and the other would prohibit discrimination by state and local governments because of "race, color, creed or religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression regardless of sex assigned at birth, pregnancy status, genetic information, disease status, age, disability, recovery status, familial status, ancestry, national origin, or military and veteran status."
OER has been approved to start collecting signatures for the Ohio Right to Marry Amendment, which would remove the provision that bans same-sex marriage, something that Christian conservative activist Lizzie Marbach is prepared to fight.
"It directly goes against our First Amendment right to practice our religion, but also it is spitting in the face of God because not only does he define what marriage is, but he's who created the sexes," Marbach said.
Just because someone has an interpretation of the Bible doesn't mean it applies to everyone, Regula said.
"That's perfectly fine for her to believe," Regula said. "But we are not a Christian nation."
There is a specific carveout for religious organizations and members of clergy who will be able to deny marriage requests, which Marbach appreciated but said wasn't enough.
She said her faith is why she is also against OER's other ballot proposal, the Ohio Equal Rights Amendment, which would prohibit government discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
This is just meant to fight against the legislation lawmakers passed last year, she said.
"It's important not to allow men into women's bathrooms and boys into young girls' sports and all of those things," she said.
OER was required to put forward two proposals instead of one that focused on all LGBTQ+ rights. Republicans on the Ohio Ballot Board said that same-sex marriage was fundamentally different than transgender rights.
Watch more about the two proposals:
This means that instead of only needing to collect about 415,000 signatures for one constitutional amendment, supporters would need to get that amount for each of the two amendments — 830,000 valid signatures. For all ballot proposals, campaigns need valid signatures from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties.
Regula wants to get this on the Nov. 2026 ballot.
"I think being able to pass this would be a huge bright spot," he said.
Already, GOP politicians, like Sec. of State Frank LaRose, have begun fundraising off of the amendments.
However, LaRose — and each other politician we have seen — have only mentioned the Equal Rights Amendment, not marriage equality.
In a fundraising email, the secretary asked for help to fight the Democrats who are trying to “Enshrine special protections for extreme transgender policies in schools, businesses and even churches.”
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