OHIO: Man Who Successfully Challenged Same-Sex Marriage Ban Dies At 48

In July a federal judge ordered the state of Ohio to recognize the Maryland marriage of John Arthur (above right) and his husband. Arthur was terminally ill and he wished to be listed as married on his Ohio death certificate so that he could be buried in his husband's family plot. He died yesterday.

Mr. Arthur was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2011, and his terminal illness played a prominent role in the couple’s decision to marry and in the ensuing legal battle. He and Obergefell had been a couple since 1992 but decided to marry after the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 decision striking down portions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. “We had talked about getting married, and we never ever felt it would be anything more than symbolic because of the nature of our country,” Mr. Arthur said in an interview shortly before the wedding. Although he was bedridden in the last months of his life, the publicity from his court case gave him a link to the outside world as hundreds of people sent gifts, letters and cards of support. Known throughout his life for a sense of optimism and an equal sense of the absurd, Mr. Arthur saw both in the attention their story garnered. “It’s been a swell of anonymous support,” he said in August. “It’s truly the supporters who are seeking us out to congratulate us and acknowledge us and give us words of support and thanks.” In addition to his husband, Mr. Arthur is survived by his father and his brother Curtis.

Our condolences to his husband.