On June 26, 2015 — 10 years ago Thursday — the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide.
In the months leading up to the decision, the issue of marriage equality had been going through federal and state courts in Kansas and Missouri, with conflicting opinions from judges and pushback from state lawmakers.
But the 5-4 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges ended a patchwork system of legality across the country, and represented a significant shift in public opinion in the years prior.
A decade later, LGBTQ+ couples in Kansas City say their marriages take on a different meaning.
John Kenny Rodricks and his husband, Robert Gann, were the first same-sex couple to be married in Jackson County.
"I know that we're more protective of (our marriage) than we were previously, because there are groups who are actively trying to take every step they can to end our marriage," said Rodricks told KCUR's Up To Date.
Both Missouri and Kansas still have bans on gay marriage on the books, however. On a national level, the Southern Baptist Convention earlier this month endorsed an effort to overturn the right to same-sex marriage.
The Respect For Marriage Act, signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, protects recognition of existing marriages by the federal government — but it would not require all states to perform them if the U.S Supreme Court overturns its Obergefell decision.
But for Jen Benkert, who runs the property leasing business First Space KC with their wife Kristen Goché, the visibility of their marriage feels more important than ever today.
"I think seeing somebody who identifies as a genderqueer lesbian, also who's disabled and married to another butch woman is really important for kids and for teenagers and for anybody who feels like their love is being made less right now," Benkert told KCUR's Up To Date.
"Or (someone) that doesn't feel safe, or doesn't feel that they can bare it all — because we walk around showing who we are and baring it all every single day."
- Jen Benkert and Kristen Goché
- Kate Boysen and Cathy Justice
- Robert Gann and John Kenny Rodricks
