On the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark marriage equality decision, these couples celebrate “normality.”
They led the fight for marriage equality
The marriage of Obergefell and Arthur was a fight to get married by Ohio to grant marriage recognition, which ultimately led to marriage equality across the country.
Michael Silverstein stared at the sun-drenched rock walls of the Grand Canyon along with his phone, Jacob Price.
Silverstein rushed to his car. He scooped up the engagement ring hidden in his suitcase, then returned to the price at the edge of the canyon and fell to one knee.
It was June 26th, 2015.
Ten years later, Silverstein and Price are still willing to be involved. They have not yet exchanged vows or have not planned a wedding. But for Silverstein, that’s what the court’s decision was “everything.”
“This ruling allowed us to get married, and at the same time, it doesn’t suit our family. For me, it’s the ultimate level of choice and freedom,” he said.
As the country marks 10 years of national marriage equality, couples like LGBTQ+ Silverstein and Price tell USA Today that they are celebrating what they once thought is not currently.
Obergefellv of the Supreme Court. Hodges’ decision represents decades of work by LGBTQ+ activists. It came shortly after major legislative and legal battles in at least 13 states, overturning the ban on same-sex marriage.
Street parties exploded in several town squares after the decision was announced. The couple was flooded into the court to tie the knot. And the national landmarks from the White House to the Empire State buildings were illuminated in rainbow colors.
Silverstein quickly points out that America’s LGBTQ+ equality and safety efforts are far from over. But the anniversary of that day is a reminder of progress.
“Normality is something we’ve always wanted,” said Silverstein, a chef and former “Master Chef” finalist. “There’s something good about being able to go to our favorite restaurant and just sit there and drink some wine. We’re just normal and that’s really luxury.”
“It gave us legitimacy.”
By the time Ellen Deepoo and Angelia Ford pulled to the Dallas courthouse on June 26, 2015, a crowd in rainbow-coloured clothes had gathered outside, and the rabbi was screaming through the megaphone, “Finally a hitch and finally a chick.”
Inside, the ornate red brick buildings were already flooded with people. Bystanders walked through the hall, handing out long root roses and wedding cakes to couples waiting on long meandering lines.
When Deepoo, 48, and Ford, 54, arrived around noon, they said the celebrations they had greeted were “almost difficult to receive” due to the years of negative reactions they encountered to their relationship.
Just that morning, an employee near Denton County, where they lived, refused to let them get married. Deepoo and Ford decided to get their license in Dallas instead, then head home that night to host a small wedding in Denton.
When they got home, a friend called out saying that the words came out, and a group of people gathered in the town square of Denton to watch the ceremony. They then decided to go up the county courthouse stairs and take an oath that everyone could see, Deep said.
“We were doing that, so Denton City, Denton County and the country could see that we are proud of our marriage as a normal, regular, and perhaps boring couple,” said Deep, a speech and language pathologist with a laugh.
“We’re a family,” sister Sledge began to blow up. Bubble and raindrops fall around, as they pronounced “I.”
In the instant they made them feel like they had to hide their full identity anymore.
“Our gay agenda is waking up, drinking coffee, taking the dog with you, pondering a second cup,” high school art teacher Ford recalls her 10-year marriage. “We are still the same people. It just gave us legitimacy. And having legitimacy is a big deal.”
The decision also granted the rights of same-sex couples previously reserved for married heterosexual couples, including joint tax filing, access to spouse health insurance, and ease of initiating a family.
For Christie Phillipchuck and her wife Daniel, these advances have made world-wide differences. When Daniel Phillipchuck gave birth to the couple’s first child in August 2014, their marriage was not recognized in their Ohio homeland. That is, Filipchuck had to fill out a horde of additional documents in order to legally adopt his daughter.
On the day the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, two new parents marched to court in Toledo, Ohio, to get married, have lunch with friends and take a nap. They view the 10th anniversary as a family celebration rather than their own, Filipchuck said.
“We’ve had another child since then, and it was on that birth certificate and seeing how much it changed, it was really eye-opening,” Christie Phillipchuck said. “It was like, ‘Yeah, this was like a straight couple doing it. This is how easy it was.”
Is it worth ten years?
According to a November 2015 Gallup poll, six months after the Supreme Court decision, the number of same-sex couples married in the United States increased by 7%. Ten years later, the number of same-sex couples married more than doubled, based on an analysis by the Williams Institute, the Center for Research on Gender Identity Law at the University of California, University of Los Angeles.
Silverstein said the ruling was the first he remembered in his lifetime to show momentum in America to advance towards greater acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. It was a “signal that the tide was changing,” he said.
But looking back, he questioned whether he had seen “the decade of progress since then.”
The Human Rights Campaign issued a “Status of Emergency” in 2023 after dozens of laws were enacted nationwide that affected LGBTQ+ people, including banning gender-affirming care, bathroom access and more.
A report published in 2025 by the Trevor Project and Movement Advancement Project found that 40% of LGBTQ+ young people are thinking about moving because of what they call LGBTQ+ politics and law in their hometowns.
Deepee and Ford said they would consider leaving their hometown of Texas if the Supreme Court overturns Obergefell’s decision, as pushed by some conservative officials.
Judge Clarence Thomas, who is at least one member of the Supreme Court, suggested that the court should “reconsider” its Obergeffel decision. Thomas commented in his 2022 Consent Opinion on the Court’s landmark decision. It overturned Wade’s federal abortion protections.
In early June, at its annual meeting in Dallas, the Southern Baptist Treaty, the country’s largest Protestant sect, passed a resolution in favour of coordinated efforts to overturn the same-sex marriage ruling.
Deepee said it would be difficult to recognize Obergefell without acknowledging the possibility that Obergefell would be overturned. But when they celebrate the decade of their marriage, they choose to focus on the steps they saw towards progress, especially for the younger generation.
“When kids in the classroom openly talk about who they are and hear the spaces they are, it gives me hope,” said art educator Ford. “Not only in my room, but in public places.”
Contributors: Claire Thornton, Mark Ramirez, Liam Adams
