Gay Wichita couple marries as they worry about court rulings – The Associated Press – en Español

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita couple decided to get married Saturday at a pride event instead of waiting until later this year after a Supreme Court justice suggested the court should consider overturning rulings legalizing same-sex marriage and striking down laws criminalizing gay sex.

Elliot and Juniper Chibs got married in front of hundreds of people at Naftzger Park in Wichita. Their marriage is legal now, but they worry that could change.

“We are afraid they are going to take away gay marriage. I’m terrified,” Elliot Chibs told the Wichita Eagle. “Do you think anyone would choose to be gay? After everything we go through, all the assaults you face, the discrimination, the hate on a daily basis. … It’s scary to be gay. No one would choose this.”

Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple, who attended the pride event, said the high court’s ruling striking down the right to abortion, and Justice Clarence Thomas’ words in a concurring opinion are “political activism from the bench.”

“I think it is a shock and a wake-up… that the rights that people enjoy are actually at risk now,” he said.

Thomas wrote in the concurring opinion that the high court should also reconsider its 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage and a 2003 decision striking down laws criminalizing gay sex.