Life

Edie Windsor, the mother of marriage equality, has died

Edie Windsor, the mother of marriage equality, has died

Edith Windsor, the elderly widow who took her case for marriage equality to the Supreme Court, has passed away at the age of 88 according to her wife, Judith Kasen-Windsor.

The Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 after Windsor sued the federal government for denying her an exemption from federal estate taxes following the death of her first wife, Thea Spyer. Windsor, who paid $363,053 in taxes, said in her case that the law unconstitutionally treated same-sex spouses differently from opposite sex spouses.

While the court struck down the law’s definition of marriage as solely between a man and a woman, it didn’t go so far as declaring a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry. A later ruling by the court in 2015 gave gay and lesbian couples the right to marry nationwide.

Don't forget to share:

Support vital LGBTQ+ journalism

Reader contributions help keep LGBTQ Nation free, so that queer people get the news they need, with stories that mainstream media often leaves out. Can you contribute today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

Trans entertainer Eddie Izzard will retire from comedy to run for political office

Previous article

Is Demi Lovato dating a woman?

Next article