First it was Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg officiating at a same-sex wedding at the Supreme Court. Now it’s retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. On Tuesday, the 83-year-old O’Connor presided at the wedding of Jeffrey Trammell and Stuart Serkin in the court lawyer’s lounge. Trammell is a long-time Democratic political operative and D.C. lobbyist, and Serkin is his partner of 36 years.
O’Connor, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan, wasn’t always a leader on gay issues. She supported the Boy Scouts of America’s right to ban gay scoutmasters, for example. In one of her last decisions before retiring, she agreed with the court majority striking down same-sex sodomy laws, but said that the laws would be constitutional if they banned all types of sodomy. In the end, it’s the personal relationships that seem to count. In that case, don’t look for Antonin Scalia to be officiating at any weddings in the near future.
Photo credit: Aspen Institute
rand503
Would love to ask her how and why. How did she, a woman from deeply conservative roots, come to regard gays as equals, and why? I bet her answer would be fascinating. It might actually move other conservatives as well.
Bozen
I think Reagan was more-so liberal than most conservatives of his time when it came to gay equality (considering he was a product of his time and environment). Not sure how I feel about her though. With time comes change.
Anyway, good for her.
Icebloo
Now she is of no use to the Republican Party they stop telling her how to behave and how to vote so now she finally acts like a human being. What a weak, self-serving piece of trash she is !
hyhybt
She seems like a decent person to me.
Billysees
@rand503:
I’d say the same thing.
And other conservatives definitely need to be moved don’t they ?
@hyhybt:
I feel the same way too.
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jwrappaport
I can think of few people whom I would be less likely to have officiate at my wedding than this fatuous, nauseatingly overpraised gasbag.
Have we forgotten her tenure on the Court? She stuck us with Alito (and Bush some might argue). She signed onto an opinion that had this to say about gay sex: “[…] to claim that a right to engage in such conduct is ‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition’ or ‘implicit in the concept of ordered liberty’ is, at best, facetious.” The decision allowed sodomy laws to be enforced for another 17 years.
Likewise, she refused to join the majority opinion in Lawrence v. Texas (that overturned the above decision) and concurred separately that it would be constitutional to ban sodomy for gays and straights because the state has an interest in promoting morality. Likewise, she pointed to “preserving the institution of marriage” as a legitimate state interest.
Sandra can send her well-wishes back twenty years when they may have mattered. Good for her for “evolving” (whatever that tiresome neologism means), but it was, like that of so many others with the power to actually do some good, too little too late – and frankly insulting in light of the very real harm she did to people like us.
Lordbotetourt
Justice O’Connor became chancellor at William & Mary after retiring from the court. Jeff was rector of the board of visitors during the same time. Jeff was the first out gay rector of the College. Go Tribe!