In a landmark decision in the Obergefell v. Hodges case on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court justices ruled 5-4 in favor of same-sex marriage. The women on the court voted 3-0 for, while the men voted 4-2 against.
From left: Sonia Sotomayor; Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Elena Kagan.
One justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, affectionately known as Notorious R.B.G. by young admirers, stands out as a long-time champion of marriage equality and “is considered to have been instrumental in the decision.”
In a past Supreme Court case, Ginsberg successfully argued that non-discrimination policies should not only apply to race, but also gender. She became the first Supreme Court member to officiate a same-sex wedding in August 2013 and conducted a second in May 2015.
In an interview with Bloomberg earlier this year, Ginsburg said that “it would not take a large adjustment” for Americans to accept the idea of same-sex marriage. In the same interview, she also stated, “The change in people’s attitudes on that issue has been enormous. In recent years, people have said, ‘This is the way I am.’ And others looked around, and we discovered it’s our next-door neighbor — we’re very fond of them. Or it’s our child’s best friend or even our child. I think that as more and more people came out and said that ‘this is who I am,’ the rest of us recognized that they are one of us.”
In court, Ginsburg, shot down arguments against same-sex marriage. She referenced an elderly couple getting married as a counter-argument to the notion that marriage is based on procreation. Ginsburg stated, "Suppose a couple, 70-year-old couple, comes in, and they want to get married? You don’t have to ask them any questions. You know they are not going to have any children." On the institution of marriage, Ginsburg argued, "All of the incentives, all of the benefits that marriage affords would still be available. So you’re not taking away anything from heterosexual couples. They would have the very same incentive to marry, all the benefits that come with marriage that they do now."
At 82, Ginsburg is the oldest member of the Supreme Court. She is also the second (and first Jewish) female justice and a two-time cancer survivor.
As for the future, Ginsburg made a comment at a 2012 Bench and Bar Conference at the University of Colorado in Boulder, that she wants to see an all-female supreme court. She said, “... I’m sometimes asked when will there be enough [women], and I say when there are nine, people are shocked.” She made the point that no one has "ever raised a question" with an all-male court.
The internet has developed a mild obsession with the Supreme Court justice. There are t-shirts, memes and a Tumblr page dedicated to the Notorious R.B.G. One woman even got a tattoo.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life will be documented in an upcoming biopic starring Natalie Portman titled, “On The Basis of Sex.”
