CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Edie Windsor, 88, Is Dead

Edith Windsor was the named plaintiff in the landmark civil rights lawsuit, Windsor v. United States, which challenged the constitutionality of the 1996 "Defense of Marriage Act." In 2013, the United States Supreme Court struck down DOMA and two years later marriage equality was the law of the land following another high court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Windsor died this week at age 88, and President Barack Obama issued a statement in memoriam:

America’s long journey towards equality has been guided by countless small acts of persistence, and fueled by the stubborn willingness of quiet heroes to speak out for what’s right.  

Few were as small in stature as Edie Windsor – and few made as big a difference to America. 

I had the privilege to speak with Edie a few days ago, and to tell her one more time what a difference she made to this country we love.  She was engaged to her partner, Thea, for forty years.  After a wedding in Canada, they were married for less than two.  But federal law didn’t recognize a marriage like theirs as valid – which meant that they were denied certain federal rights and benefits that other married couples enjoyed.  And when Thea passed away, Edie spoke up – not for special treatment, but for equal treatment – so that other legally married same-sex couples could enjoy the same federal rights and benefits as anyone else. 

In my second inaugural address, I said that if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.  And because people like Edie stood up, my administration stopped defending the so-called Defense of Marriage Act in the courts.  The day that the Supreme Court issued its 2013 ruling in United States v. Windsor was a great day for Edie, and a great day for America – a victory for human decency, equality, freedom, and justice.  And I called Edie that day to congratulate her. 

Two years later, to the day, we took another step forward on our journey as the Supreme Court recognized a Constitutional guarantee of marriage equality.  It was a victory for families, and for the principle that all of us should be treated equally, regardless of who we are or who we love. 

I thought about Edie that day.  I thought about all the millions of quiet heroes across the decades whose countless small acts of courage slowly made an entire country realize that love is love – and who, in the process, made us all more free.  They deserve our gratitude.  And so does Edie.  

Michelle and I offer our condolences to her wife, Judith, and to all who loved and looked up to Edie Windsor.

Hat/tip to Talking Points Memo

Arkansas Judge Strikes Down State's Bans On Marriage Equality

A local judge in Arkansas has struck down both a 1997 prohibition of same-sex marriage and a voter-approved 2004 constitutional amendment doing the same thing. This is just another domino in the string of judicial decisions recognizing that there is no rational basis for denying the fundamental right to marry to persons in same-sex relationships.

In his brief, 13-page ruling, Judge Chris Piazza said:

The Arkansas Supreme Court applied a heightened scrutiny and struck down as unconstitutional an initiated act that prohibited unmarried opposite-sex and same-sex couples from adopting children. The exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage for no rational basis violates the fundamental right to privacy and equal protection as described in Jegley and Cole, supra. The difference between opposite-sex and same-sex families is within the privacy of their homes. 

THEREFORE, THIS COURT HEREBY FINDS the Arkansas constitutional and legislative ban on same-sex marriage through Act 144 of 1997 and Amendment 83 is unconstitutional. 

It has been over forty years since Mildred Loving was given the right to marry the person of her choice. The hatred and fears have long since vanished and she and her husband lived full lives together; so it will be for the same-sex couples. 

It is time to let that beacon of freedom shine brighter on all our brothers and sisters. We will be stronger for it.

Piazza also refused to place a stay on the effect of his ruling, which means that couples could be issued marriage licenses as soon as tomorrow morning when some County Clerk offices are open on Saturdays.

The Attorney General of Arkansas (A Democrat who last week announced he personally support marriage equality but will continue to defend the ban on same-sex marriage in court) has announced that he will request that the judge issue a stay while the matter is on appeal before the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Hat/tip to Washington Blade

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Time Person of the Year is Pope Francis

Time magazine has selected Pope Francis as the Person of the Year for 2013.

The other finalists were:

Bashar Assad, President of Syria (#4)

Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder

Ted Cruz, Texas Senator (#5)

Miley Cyrus, Singer

Barack Obama, President of the United States

Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services

Edward Snowden, N.S.A. Leaker (#2)

Edith Windsor, Gay rights activist (#3)

Very cool to see Edith Windsor, lead plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case of United States v. Windsor that resulted in the end of the federal government's refusal to recognize legally married same-sex couples for the purpose of federal law.