WASHINGTON — Pres. Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law on Tuesday, providing federal protections for same-sex couples if the Supreme Court chooses to reverse the landmark Obergefell decision. A ceremony featuring music from artists Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper took place on the South Lawn of the White House, where Biden declared “This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms."
In attendance was a Charlotte couple: Zuni Johnson and Jason McCraw. The two men were invited to the ceremony by the White House, but Johnson told WCNC Charlotte they weren't deeply connected politically.
"I think it was a friend of a friend, honestly, who got the invitation," he said. "I mean, we're nobody special. We fight for equality in our own ways."
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Johnson and McCraw both worked with the Human Rights Campaign and Equality NC in the past, and they have a nonprofit of their own called Twirl to the World that provides hardship assistance for vulnerable members of Charlotte's LGBTQ community.
Their work over the years stems from the roots of their relationship. Johnson and McCraw first met in 1997. Johnson was a closeted elementary school teacher, and McCraw was still in college before starting his career at Wells Fargo Wachovia.
"And back then, today was not an option, it wasn't even a possibility," Johnson said. "We weren't thinking of marriage because that wasn't in our reality. And over the last quarter of a century, we've come to know this."
In fact, when both men eventually started working at the bank together, they started coming out to their coworkers slowly. It was around the same time both men said Charlotte's pride festivities were under heavy scrutiny.
"We almost lost Charlotte Pride because of some of the protests and the people reserving the parks where it used to be in Uptown Charlotte," McCraw said. "There was a group of us, 10 to 12 people -- we happened to be neighbors with the one who invited us -- and we went there and sit in that room at the community center. And we saved pride that year."
The couple got married in 2013 when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in United States v. Windsor that the Defense of Marriage Act signed in 1996 was unconstitutional. That act, known as "DOMA" in shorthand, originally defined marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman at the federal level. In fact, McCraw and Johnson were on the steps of the high court when the ruling was handed down, exchanging their vows months later.
Fast-forward to Dec. 13, 2022. The Respect for Marriage Act is now signed into law, which means every state must recognize any same-sex marriage performed in any state where it is legal. It's a critical law, Johnson said, but the work isn't done yet.
"We need the Equality Act to even have workplace protections and so much more. So I think this was not only a victory today, but a stepping stone showing that we could have bipartisan, just cooperation. Coming together, passing what we know to be right and extending equality and protections to all."
McCraw agreed with his husband and said he hoped the next generation of LGBTQ people can heed the lessons of the past to pave the road for the future.
"Don't forget the past," he said. "There's still a lot more to do."