COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Columbus couple will be keeping a watchful eye on Tuesday’s oral arguments, on gay marriage, at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Joe Davy and Ed Buns began dating in 1996.
“Once we started dating, it was pretty much instantly that we knew we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives,” said Davy.
The two spent time living in Columbus, Florida and Maryland.
In 2012, while they were residing in Maryland, the state’s legislature voted to legalize same-sex marriage, beginning on January 1, 2013.
Davy and Buns married a few months later.
“We did the full wedding,” said Buns. “I got to do something I never thought I would.”
Six weeks later, the couple moved back to Ohio, one of 13 states where same-sex marriage remains illegal.
Along with the move, Davy and Buns lost the legal rights they had obtained by wedding in Maryland.
“We have to file five different tax returns because we live in a state that doesn’t recognize our marriage,” Davy said. “We can still be fired for being gay in Ohio. If one of us is in the hospital, the hospitals don’t necessarily have to let us in, because we’re not legally married here.”
One of the issues, which the Supreme Court will weigh, is whether states can refuse to recognize same-sex couples who were legally married in other states.
Both Davy and Buns are hoping the justices will rule in favor of couples, such as themselves.
“Just having that, just that legality covering you is a huge, huge weight off your shoulders,” explained Buns. “Even though this is such a hotbed topic right now and we’re calling it ‘gay marriage’ or ‘same-sex marriage,’ I hope one day it just becomes marriage, you know, you’re just getting married and that’s it.”