Same-Sex Marriage Supporters Again Gather Outside Supreme Court
Several hundred same-sex marriage supporters once again gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday as the justices heard oral arguments in a case that challenges the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.
National Black Justice Coalition CEO Sharon Lettman-Hicks, Tyler Deaton of Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry, Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron and Earl Fowlkes of the Center for Black Equality are among those who spoke at a rally near the steps of the Supreme Court. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church gathered along First Street, N.E., but the vast majority of those who gathered outside the court backed nuptials for gays and lesbians.
“I think it’s important for all of us, regardless of whether we’re LGBTQ, to be here in support of change and [in] support of getting DOMA overturned and expanding federal benefits to all legally married couples,” D.C. resident June Crenshaw told the Washington Blade.
Yonkers, N.Y., City Councilmember Michael Sabatino and his husband Robert Voorheis visited Edith Windsor, the New York City widow who challenged DOMA after she paid $363,000 in estate taxes following her partner’s 2009 death, on Tuesday night. Sabatino told the Blade while he and Voorheis stood outside the Supreme Court with a sign that included a picture of them on their wedding day in Canada that she seemed “pretty relaxed” and “looked very well.”
“It was just great to spend a little quiet time with her before her big day today,” Voorheis said. “I am so excited about being here. It is a culmination of years of work to get to this point and I’m really optimistic. I’m really excited and I’m very proud of Edie.”