’Doing the right thing is never wrong’

Jim Obergefell on stage at Johns Hopkins University; he hols a microphone in his left hand and is wearing a blue checked sports coat and a bowtie - 'Accidental activist' Jim Obergefell kicks off 55th MSE Symposium series - Obergefell was the lead plaintiff in the 2015 Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in the U.S. Self-described accidental activist Jim Obergefell spoke at Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday evening as part of the storied Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium series. Student-run since 1967, the MSE Symposium invites speakers for the free exchange of ideas and to promote the incisive analysis of important issues. Obergefell was the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that in 2015 legalized same-sex marriage throughout the United States. Built on arguments laid out in the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment, Obergefell v. Hodges established the right for same-sex couples to marry and required states to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples who married elsewhere. Obergefell's appearance was timely: Not only has the real estate broker been running for office in Ohio since January, but this past summer, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the rights established under Obergefell v. Hodges should be re-examined. In his concurring opinion on the ruling of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , which removed the constitutional right to abortion, Thomas invited his fellow justices to re-evaluate the constitutionality of 20th-century cases like Obergefell that were built on arguments under the 14th Amendment.