Indiana couple travels to D.C. to support same-sex marriage fight

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The U.S. Supreme Court will take up the issue of gay marriage Tuesday.

Thousands of people are hoping they are one of just a few hundred who will be able to witness the two-and-a-half hours of oral arguments.

Greg Hasty and CJ Valero are among them. They are the youngest plaintiffs of the ACLU case in Indiana. They say they know their chance of getting inside to hear the arguments is slim, but they wanted to be in Washington D.C. just to show support.

The justices will hear oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges. That case originated in Ohio, but in total there are 32 plaintiffs from four states who will be in front of the Supreme Court Tuesday.

At issue is whether or not same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry and whether states should be required to recognize those marriages performed in other states.

Same-sex marriage is legal in Indiana, but Hasty and Valero say the fight is not over until everyone has that right.

“Being in D.C. has definitely cemented that for both of us. Seeing monuments to men and women that fought for the freedoms that you’re asking for and no way can you ever equal up to what they did and the sacrifices they made, but it certainly feels really, really good to see the monuments in memories of them and get that feeling that you’re standing on the right side of an issue that will affect the nation,” Hasty said over the phone Monday.

A decision by this same court in 2013 upheld the right for gay couples to marry, but that ruling does not require states to recognize marriages performed in other states. Opponents argue states have the right to set their own rules for marriage.

The court should give its decision in this landmark case by July.