New mural in Over-the-Rhine will commemorate 10th anniversary of landmark ‘Obergefell’ ruling

A new mural in Over-the-Rhine will commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage across the country.

ArtWorks is painting the mural on 7 Mercer St., a building facing the former home of Jim Obergefell, the case’s lead plaintiff, and his late husband, John Arthur.

“My late husband John’s and my fight for recognition of our marriage began across the street from the mural and ended at the Supreme Court, and our story of love, loss, and the law made our world a better place,” Obergefell said in a press release.

The couple met in 1992 and lived together in Cincinnati for 21 years. In 2013, Obergefell and Arthur got married in Maryland. Same-sex marriage was legal there, but not in their home state.

At the time, Arthur was dying from ALS. When the couple learned Arthur would be listed as single on his death certificate because of Ohio’s ban on same-sex marriage, they sued and, ultimately, won.

Ten years later, the story of the Cincinnati couple who fought for their marriage to be recognized will be painted onto the city’s landscape.

‘Cincinnati-centric’ design to include symbols of love, equality, diversity

ArtWorks is in the early stages of designing the new public artwork. The nonprofit has not officially selected a designer yet, but it has been brainstorming mural elements with stakeholders, including Paul Gomez, who owns the Mercer Street property, and Obergefell.

The mural will likely include symbols of love, equality and diversity, Senior Director of Impact Sydney Fine told WVXU.

“It’s also really important that it is Cincinnati-centric,” Fine said. “Something that Jim [Obergefell] talked about was how the day that this decision was passed, there were all of these marriages happening — like immediately — on Fountain Square. The goal is to have some depiction of that as well.”

The 10-year anniversary of the Obergefell decision comes as the federal government rolls back LGBTQ+ rights, and some conservatives call for the court to reconsider the ruling.

Fine says the mural will honor marriage equality and center a theme of love.

“I think that this shares a message to the community that Cincinnati is a place where everyone is welcome and that people can be who they are and love who they are here,” Fine said.

Young adults in ArtWorks’ Creative Studios program will paint the mural on a substrate, then install it on the building’s wall.

Painting is set to begin this month. The mural is scheduled to be unveiled in this fall.

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