Thursday, June 27, 2013

A New Hero for the LGBT Community


Born in 1929 in Philadelphia. Married and then divorced realizing she was a lesbian. Moved to New York and met Thea Spyer. They fell in love. In 2007 they wed in Toronto. Their relationship spanned 40+ years until Thea lost her fight with Multiple Sclerosis and heart issues. Edith then had to pay the IRS over $350,000.00 in inheritance taxes (something no heterosexual couple would have had to do). She decided to take on the U.S. Government. Yesterday her marriage to Thea was validated and the U.S. Government now owes her the money she paid them. She stood strong and proud demanding to be treated as equal as any other U.S. Citizen and because of her courage and persistence we all now can look forward to that equal treatment.


When I think about what this 84 year old woman has done for the gay community it brings tears to my eyes. Now that DOMA has been deemed unconstitutional I can only believe that all bans against same sex marriage will soon be a thing of the past. I am truly grateful for the fight that Ms. Windsor took on and I wish I could thank her personally. I feel we need to make her birthday a LGBT holiday - we should all remember what she has done long after she is gone.

“ Marriage ... symbolizes commitment and love like nothing else in the world. And it's known all over the world. I mean, wherever you go, if you're married, that means something to people and it meant a difference in feeling the next day."
~ Edith Windsor

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