Edith Windsor, the woman at the center
of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) case headed to the Supreme
Court, says she didn't want to be queer.
In a BuzzFeed.com
profile, Windsor, 83, said marrying Thea Spyer, her partner of four
decades, in 2007 changed their relationship.
“I ask all gay couples who have lived
together a long time and got married, 'Was it different the next
morning?' And everybody says yes, and they don't know how to explain
it,” Windsor said. “Marriage itself, you know, it's a magic
word, everybody knows what it means, it means love and commitment and
trust and stuff – but there's this extra thing when it was always
denied to you. But it's profound. Whatever loving was there, it
becomes really profound loving.”
Windsor sued the federal government
after she received an estate bill of more than $360,000 resulting
from the 2009 death of her wife. Windsor's lawyers argue that DOMA
violates the equal protection guarantee of the U.S. Constitution.
Windsor added that she never wanted to
be gay.
“I certainly did not want to be
queer,” she said of coming out in the 60s. “There was no way. I
could not imagine a life that way. I wanted to be like everybody
else. You marry a man who supports you – it never occurred to me
I'd have to earn a living, and nor did I study to earn a living.”