THIS BOOK would not have been possible without the support of Al Gerhardstein, who shared his time, memories, documents, and guidance. Al’s wife, Mimi Gingold, and children Jessica Gingold and Adam and Ben Gerhardstein, helped tell Al’s story and also the story of gay rights in Ohio. Thank you to the people of Gerhardstein & Branch for their patience and great support, especially Jennifer Branch, Sydney Greathouse, and Mary Armor.
The case for marriage equality didn’t start and end in Ohio. We received tremendous support from the many co-plaintiffs and lawyers in Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee, especially attorney Regina Lambert, a passionate and gifted storyteller; Sophy Jesty and Val Tanco; Pam and Nicole Yorksmith; Michael De Leon and Greg Bourke; and Joe Vitale and Robert Talmas. Thank you for opening your homes, sharing your experiences, and introducing your children, including Grayden and Orion Yorksmith, Isaiah and Bella De Leon, and the dapper Cooper Talmas-Vitale.
Thank you, David Michener, for sharing memories of your late husband, Bill Ives.
Special thanks to those who provided legal and historical guidance, particularly James Esseks with the American Civil Liberties Union, who patiently offered detailed descriptions about laws, lawsuits, and court rulings. Thanks also to Susan Sommer at Lambda Legal as well as Freedom to Marry’s Evan Wolfson and Marc Solomon, whose 2014 book Winning Marriage: The Inside Story of How Same-Sex Couples Took on the Politicians and Pundits—and Won provided an extensive timeline on marriage equality in America.
Our sincere gratitude to the people of Cincinnati, particularly lawyer Scott Knox, journalist Dan Hurley, city council member Chris Seelbach, neurologist John Quinlan, minister Sharon Dittmar, and Kevin Osborne, the director of communications and LGBTQ liaison for Mayor John Cranley. Years of skillful reporting and photography by the Cincinnati Enquirer were essential to this book project, in particular the work of writer Julie Zimmerman and photojournalists and multimedia producers Carrie Cochran and Glenn Hartong, whose emotional video of the wedding of John Arthur and Jim Obergefell helped bring this story to the eyes of the world.
The exceptional work of other journalists also deserves mention, including stories, photos, and video that appeared in Cincinnati Magazine, the New York Times, the Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, People, SCOTUSblog, and the Washington Post. Thanks especially to the Washington Post’s Michael S. Rosenwald and Robert Barnes for ongoing coverage that provided critical perspective and detail.
Thanks to the ALS Association for guidance and information.
John Arthur and Jim Obergefell’s many friends and family members were generous in sharing their memories, particularly Curtis Arthur, Keith Cassidy, Paulette and Mike Roberts, Ann Hippler, Meb Wolfe, and Kevin Babb. We are also grateful for the cooperation of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and for the invaluable insight offered by federal judges Tim Black and Martha Craig Daughtrey.
Our sincere thanks to the talented Jordan Rudner, for months of dogged research and reporting, and to Julie Tate, for bringing her immense research and fact-checking skills to this project under a tight deadline.
We would like to thank our agent Joelle Delbourgo for falling in love with this project even before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, and Jenny Meyer, for her passionate representation abroad.
Film producers Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen of Temple Hill Productions had a vision for a film based on this story, even before book rights were sold. Fox 2000’s Elizabeth Gabler and Drew Reed provided crucial early support, for which we are deeply grateful.
Thank you to the smart, skilled, and supportive team at William Morrow for the passion and intense interest in seeing this story to print, particularly Liate Stehlik, Lynn Grady, Sharyn Rosenblum, Shelby Meizlik, Chloe Moffett, and, most of all, editor David Highfill, who loved this story from the start and provided wise counsel and a keen and sensitive ear at every stage of this project.
Jim owes Michael Volpatt a debt of gratitude for his friendship, support, and PR/marketing expertise over the past year.
Finally, we thank our family and friends for their support and faith: Jeffrey Rohrlick, Brett Cassidy, Zack Cassidy, Renee Cenziper, Michael Sallah, Jason Grotto, Lauren Levitus, Katharine Weymouth, colleagues at the Washington Post, Ann Hippler, Chuck Obergefell, Bob Obergefell, Bill Obergefell, Rich Obergefell, and families. Jim and John were fortunate to have support and love from many people, especially when John was ill, and throughout the fight for marriage equality. Thank you for being there, in good times and hard times. Your love helped to bring this book into being.