Obergefell likes Sherrod Brown as a candidate for president

SANDUSKY — Sandusky native Jim Obergefell, a gay rights icon famous for filing the lawsuit that prompted the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriages, said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, would be an excellent candidate for president.Obergefell, a guest on a conference call Brown hosted with reporters Wednesday, was asked if he likes the idea of Brown running for the 2020 Democratic nomination. Brown has discussed running and has said he'll announce a decision in March."Absolutely," Obergefell said. "I think Sen. Brown is one of the best advocates we have in the Senate.""I also know that's a very tough decision only the senator can make," Obergefell said."Only the senator and his wife," Brown amended, referring to syndicated columnist Connie Schultz. "Move on from that question. Next."Obergefell, who Brown called "my hero" and "a civil rights hero," is a 1984 Sandusky High School graduate. He eventually moved to Cincinnati, where he met his longtime companion, John Arthur. The two got married in 2013 as Arthur was dying of ALS. The two couldn't marry in Ohio, so they flew to Maryland to tie the knot.When Arthur died, Ohio refused to recognize the marriage, so Obergefell filed a lawsuit. Obergefell v. Hodges made it to the Supreme Court, which in 2015 issued a 5-4 ruling, requiring all states to recognize same sex marriages.Brown and Obergefell hosted their press conference Wednesday to highlight Brown's opposition to two men nominated by President Donald Trump to serve on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Chad Readler and Eric Murphy. The Sixth Circuit is based in Cincinnati and handles appeals from federal courts in Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky. Brown said he believes the two have "extreme" positions. Readler supports allowing insurance companies to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and supports the Trump administration's ban on transgender people serving in the military, Brown said.As Ohio's state solicitor in the attorney general's office, Murphy fought against Obergefell's gay marriage lawsuit, Brown said, and supported Ohio's purge of voter rolls.Obergefell said Murphy "wanted children to grow up without accurate birth certificates listing both parents." Murphy continues to argue against marriage equality in the name of states' rights, Obergefell said."Our court system exists to defend our rights," Obergefell said.Ohio's other senator, Republican Rob Portman, has spoken out in favor of confirming Murphy and Readler."Mr. Murphy and Mr. Readler are both well-qualified. They both have argued — and won — cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous lower courts. They both clerked for circuit court judges, which gives them unique insight into the roles they've been asked to take on should they be confirmed," Portman said during an October 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing."Mr. Murphy has also clerked for Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court. A substantial majority of the American Bar Association Standing Committee ranked both of them 'well qualified' to sit on the bench, their highest rating. And they each come with the highest references regarding their character and abilities," Portman said.Jim Obergefell during a segement of the Register's talk program, 'Between the Lines Live.'Jim Obergefell