U.S. Associate Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg died on Friday. She was 87.
Ginsburg on Friday lost her years-long
battle with pancreatic cancer.
“Associate Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg died this evening surrounded by her family at her home in
Washington D.C., due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer,”
the Supreme Court said in a statement.
Known as “Notorious RBG” among
progressives, Ginsburg was appointed to the bench by President Bill
Clinton in 1993. During her tenure, she championed LGBT rights.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, said in a statement that the
nation had lost “an unqualified, undisputed hero.”
“Today, we lost an unqualified,
undisputed hero,” HRC President Alphonso David said. “She wasn’t
just an iconic jurist, Justice Ginsburg was a force for good – a
force for bringing this country closer to delivering on its promise
of equality for all. Her decades of work helped create many of the
foundational arguments for gender equality in the United States, and
her decisions from the bench demonstrated her commitment to full
LGBTQ equality. She was and will remain an inspiration to young
people everywhere, a pop culture icon as the Notorious RBG and a
giant in the fight for a more just nation for all. We extend our
deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. What she
represented – fairness, justice and equality for all – we must
all continue to fight for. Those principles are not transactional,
they are fundamental to our democracy.”
GLAAD's Sarah Kate Ellis called
Ginsburg “a true champion for LGBTQ equality.”
“We are forever grateful for her life
spent working towards the highest ideals of our country under the
Court's motto: Equal Justice Under the Law,” the group's CEO and
president tweeted.
A crowd of mourners gathered outside
the Supreme Court as news broke of her death.
People also paid their respects online.
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a titan of
justice,” tweeted Pete Buttigieg. “Her jurisprudence expanded the
rights of all Americans, shaping our lives for the better. And her
example now shines within the history of our country, there to
inspire generations.”
Megan Rapinoe called the news
“devastating.”
“This is devastating,” Rapinoe
tweeted, “an incalculable loss. We owe so much to RGB. Rest in
Power Ruth Bader Ginsburg. #RIPRBG.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook added in a tweet:
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent her life in pursuit of an equal world.
She fought for the unheard, and through her decisions, she changed
the course of American history. We can never repay what she has given
us, but we all can honor her legacy by working toward true equality,
together.”