The Accidental LGBT Activist: Jim Obergefell Speaks to Students at UAB
Jim Obergefell’s name will always be connected to the issue of same-sex marriage. He was at the center of the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. He spoke to a small crowd at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Wednesday about what’s he’s been doing since that landmark day in 2015.
Obergefell told the crowd of mostly UAB students he will not be invisible. The term is used to describe the lives of many LGBTQ people around the country. He said many hide their true identities for fear of discrimination, especially in conservative Alabama.
“We hide our true, authentic self from our family, our friends, our colleagues and our community,” he said. “We think twice about holding the hand of the person we love in public.”
Obergefell shared the story of his 20-year relationship with his husband John and how they fought the same-sex marriage ban in their home state of Ohio. When John died in 2013 from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Ohio didn’t recognize Obergefell as John’s spouse on the death certificate. This started a years-long legal battle that would end in sweeping marriage equality. That was when Obergefell became what he calls an accidental activist.
“As a gay man, I will always fight for the LGBT community,” he said. “But I am no longer just an LGBTQ activist. I’m a human rights activist. We are much more similar than we are different. And I’m sick and tired of those differences being used to divide. No person deserves to be invisible.”
He says he’s concerned that the current presidential administration is on a mission to strip away the LGBT rights that he and those who came before him have fought so hard to accomplish. And he sees GOP U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore as another looming threat to those rights. Moore was removed as Alabama’s Supreme Court Chief Justice when he refused to comply with federal orders legalizing same-sex marriage. But Ogerbefell is also hopeful. He says laws like Birmingham’s recently passed non-discrimination act, which makes discrimination a criminal offense, are signs that the LGBT community has allies in places where it matters most.
Auburn fires coach Hugh Freeze following 12th loss in his last 15 SEC games
The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
In a ‘disheartening’ era, the nation’s former top mining regulator speaks out
Joe Pizarchik, who led the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 2009 to 2017, says Alabama’s move in the wake of a fatal 2024 home explosion increases risks to residents living atop “gassy” coal mines.
‘It’s like feeling the arms of your creator just wrapped around you’: a visit to a special healing Shabbat
Members of Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham gathered recently for their traditional Friday Shabbat service. But this particular service was different, as could be seen by all the people dressed in their finest pink.
Space Command is coming to Huntsville. What might that mean for first-time homebuyers
While Huntsville has been a more affordable market than other growing cities, what’s it been like for those looking for their first home?
Colorado says relocation of Space Command to Alabama is ‘punishment’ for mail-in voting
The litigation announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional.
Breaking down Alabama’s CHOOSE Act
It’s been a year since Alabama legislators passed the CHOOSE Act allowing families to apply for state funds to use towards homeschool expenses and tuition for participating private schools. The Alabama Daily News’ education reporter Trisha Powell Crain has been diving into how the funds are being used. WBHM’s Andrew Gelderman sat down with her to talk about what we’re seeing so far.
