When U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black struck down Ohio’s ban on gay marriage last month, it stirred a national debate. Judge Black ruled that Ohio must recognize same-sex marriages performed legally in other states.  He stayed his own ruling pending a review by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Alphonse Gerhardstein is lead counsel in this case and several other cases challenging Ohio same-sex marriage laws. He presented “Why Marriage Matters” today for a continuing legal education course examining Ohio marriage laws at the Ohio State Bar Association.

The OSBA and the Columbus Bar Association co-hosted a daylong LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) Diversity and Inclusion Conference focused on LGBT issues and how the Defense of Marriage Act impacts workplace, immigration, estate planning, and tax matters in Ohio.

"The OSBA is committed to diversity and inclusion and sees this conference as a way to bring together excellent presenters and interested parties to discuss these important issues,” OSBA President Jonathan Hollingsworth said. “Our goal is to advance the conversation on diversity and to emphasize that opportunity must accompany diversity and inclusion in order to achieve the American dream.”

This is OSBA’s second annual conference focused on LGBT and Ohio marriage laws.