AUSTIN, Texas — New Austin resident Justin McCormick keeps April 14, 2018 close to his heart. It's the day he and his husband Jerred got married.
“It has been a blast, wouldn't change it for the world,” McCormick said. "We partied and laughed and cried so much, it was amazing. Truly one of the best days of my life."
Growing up in Arkansas, he and Jerred never knew if they’d be able to marry as a same-sex couple. In 2015, it became a legal option after the Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges.
"That day, [our wedding day], we didn't have to worry about it because we were getting married with the people we loved and it was awesome,” McCormick said.
In the weeks since Roe v. Wade was overturned, McCormick, who recently moved to Texas to work for Equality Texas, worries that his marriage will no longer be protected. While the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that would codify same-sex marriage into federal law, has passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, it faces an unknown future in the Senate.
"The mental state it puts individuals in that have been oppressed or have to deal with the different things, the traumas,” McCormick said. “It's something that makes you anxious every day."
Austin-based civil rights attorney Austin Kaplan has fought this issue before and says, if left to Texas, same-sex marriages could face heavy opposition down the road.
"The truth is, all same-sex couples in Texas need to know what is happening,” Kaplan said. “It [same-sex marriage] exists today, but the signs are that it's on thin ice and could be taken away in the near future."
For McCormick — who has his hands full with his new job, marriage and 10-year-old son Hayden — he hopes the reality is a fear never fully realized.
"It affects us, but these individuals who are saying the different things about same-sex couples like [Ted] Cruz and other individuals,” McCormick said. "How does it affect them?”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article referred to Justin's husband as "Jerredd," the correct spelling is Jerred. The earlier version also mentioned the two were engaged and married in 2019. Instead, they were engaged and married in 2018. (July 23, 2022)