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Lesbian cousin of Chief Justice to attend U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Prop 8

Lesbian cousin of Chief Justice to attend U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Prop 8

The lesbian cousin of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will be among the invited guests at Tuesday’s historic hearing on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage.

Jean PodraskyFacebook

Jean Podrasky, 48, an accountant from San Francisco and the first cousin of the chief justice on his mother’s side, will be seated in a section of the court room reserved for family members and guests of the justices, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Podrasky obtained the highly coveted courtroom seats by emailing Roberts’ sister, Peggy Roberts, and then going through his secretary. Roberts knows she is attending, she said. She, her partner, her sister and her niece will attend Tuesday’s arguments on Proposition 8.

On Wednesday, her father will take her niece’s place for the hearing on the challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act.

Although Podrasky says she has no personal knowledge of Roberts’ views on same-sex marriage, she hopes the court will overturn the 2008 ballot initiative, leaving her free to marry her partner of four years, Grace Fasano.

“Everyone in this country has a family member who is part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community…,” Podrasky wrote in a column for the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights, that will be emailed to members on Monday.

“As a Californian, I want nothing more than to marry my wonderful girlfriend. And as a tax-paying citizen, I seek basic fairness.”

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