Robin Johnston McGehee was driving home last week from her final class of the semester before exams at the College of the Sequoias when the communication instructor got an important phone call. It was from someone at the White House, inviting her to witness President Joseph R. Biden sign an important piece of legislation.

A week later, Johnston McGehee and her wife, Karen, traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the signing of the Respect for Marriage Act, a bipartisan bill that recognizes same-sex and interracial marriages under federal law. They joined hundreds of others on the South Lawn of the White House to witness and celebrate the event on Dec. 13.

Shortly before the ceremony began, Johnston McGehee posted a photo on Facebook of her and Karen: “Off to the @whitehouse with my amazing bride! #GetDOMA #GetEQUAL #RespectForMarriageAct #FistInTheAir”

The Fresno State Alumni Association honored Johnston McGehee, a 1998 communication graduate, as part of the 2015 group of Outstanding Alumni, representing the Division of Graduate Studies. Johnston McGehee is a national LGBTQ+ rights advocate and founder of an organization called GetEQUAL. Also in 2015, she and Karen married, the same month the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling making same-sex marriage a right nationwide.

Being at the White House this week — by invitation — differs from a previous visit in 2010, when Johnston McGehee and others chained themselves to the White House fence and were arrested protesting the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which has since been repealed.

“The experience was amazing, inspiring and it brought me to tears,” Johnston McGehee said. “To know that I could walk through, as an invited guest, the same fence I was chained and arrested from in 2010, is a true sign of our freedoms and democracy and it made me a prouder American knowing change can happen. Being able to experience the event with my wife made the invitation that much more beautiful and touching.” 

After California passed Proposition 8 in 2008, banning same-sex marriage, Johnston McGehee organized the Meet in the Middle for Equality rally that drew thousands to Fresno in 2009. She later helped lead the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. 

Through her work with GetEqual, she worked with many gay service members who wanted to serve openly in the military.

“The moment that struck me the most [Tuesday] was witnessing the countless officers with their wives or husbands, in uniform, without fear that they’d be discharged after the event,” Johnston McGehee said. “It was also touching to hear the President of the United States recognize the sacrifices that those in attendance had made. It immediately took me to thoughts of my children and how much they have sacrificed because of discrimination and hate.”

That discrimination and hate, Johnston McGehee said, is why this legislation is needed, even after the 2015 Supreme Court ruling.

“Hate and violence toward our community are not going away. The more work that can be done to ensure protections for our community, the better” she said. “It is clear with comments made by Justice Clarence Thomas that marriage equality was/is on his agenda as something to go after. This bill ensures if the Supreme Court overturns marriage equality, our family will be protected with the Respect for Marriage Act. Not only for same-sex marriages, but interracial marriages as well.”

Johnston McGehee said she has a lot of hope for LGBTQ+ youth.

“It goes back to what I learned and loved about being at Fresno State — we are proud, we are loyal and we are bold. Although we are living in a time that hate rhetoric is on the rise, so is action against it. The only way we make change is to speak out when we see or experience injustice. And, that is not only for the LGBTQ people to speak out, but allies as well.”