She was – albeit indirectly – a guest of Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, who gave his tickets to the speech to the conservative Family Research Council.
“Kim Davis used our ticket. Our staff heard from the Family Research Council that Ms. Davis and her family hoped to attend the State of the Union address and so we offered a ticket.”
First Lady Michelle Obama, meanwhile, invited Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the case in which the Supreme Court effectively legalized gay marriage across the nation. Obergefell is from Cincinnati.
Obergefell and his husband, John Arthur, were wed on an airplane tarmac in Maryland in the final days of Arthur’s life. Arthur died not long after from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Obergefell decided to file suit against the state after learning his name would not be on Arthur’s death certificate.
Lawmakers are traditionally given one ticket to the speech, though House leaders receive more than one. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is bringing his wife, syndicated columnist Connie Schultz, according to a spokesperson. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, brought his wife, Majida Mourad, whom he married in December.
And Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, brought Herman Potter, president of United Steelworkers Local 689. The two have worked closely together to secure money for the cleanup of the abandoned Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
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