On Friday, September 18, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sadly passed away following a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Ginsburg was elected to the Supreme Court in 1998 and during her time was a strong advocate of women’s rights and LGBT+ equality.
“Today, we lost an unqualified, undisputed hero,” Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David said in a statement. “She wasn’t just an iconic jurist, Justice Ginsburg was a force for good — a force for bringing this country closer to delivering on its promise of equality for all.
“Her decades of work helped create many of the foundational arguments for gender equality in the United States, and her decisions from the bench demonstrated her commitment to full LGBTQ equality.
“She was and will remain an inspiration to young people everywhere, a pop culture icon as the Notorious RBG and a giant in the fight for a more just nation for all.”
“Thank you, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” Laverne Cox wrote to Twitter of the news. “Your work and life made so much possible for all of us.”
Many of those well known from the LGBT+ community echoed Cox’s sentiments.
Billy Eichner encouraged followers to “continue in her footsteps” and not let up “until the bitter end.”
RBG. What a life. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/t1gzZ1r0OM
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) September 19, 2020
In 2013, Ginsburg became the first Supreme Court justice to officiate a same-sex couple’s wedding and went on to officiate many more.
Pete Buttigieg’s husband Chasten Buttigieg spoke about her legacy in the fight for same-sex marriage in the US:
“Staring at this wedding ring. Thinking of what SCOTUS means to our lives. Our families. Our marriages. Our rights. I need you to vote. We all need you to vote.”
Following her death, many are concerned that her seat will be taken by a conservative, something that Ginsburg herself was all too aware of.
According to her granddaughter, Clara Spera, Ginsburg’s dying wish was that her seat will not be filled during the Trump presidency.
“My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,” she said.
© 2020 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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