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The “Notorious RBG” has passed. This is how the country is mourning.

The “Notorious RBG” has passed. This is how the country is mourning.

Yesterday’s passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg — Supreme Court Justice, trailblazing jurist, and women’s rights leader — has left a dark cloud hanging over the country. Millions around the country, and around the world, are mourning.

For LGBTQ people especially, this loss hits home, as Ginsburg was in support of LGBTQ rights in every major Court ruling over the past 25 years. She has even presided over a number of same-sex marriages, some prior to the 2015 decision that granted marriage equality across the country.

Related: This is how America reacted when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of LGBTQ rights

One video circulating the web showcases part of Ginsburg’s testimony to the Senate during her 1993 confirmation hearings. “Indeed, in my lifetime, I expect to see three, four, perhaps even more women on the High Court Bench,” she testified. After being confirmed, she saw two other women joined the court – in comparison to five men.

In the video, she further speaks about how important her “partner”, Martin, was to her career. He preceded Ruth in death by 10 years.

“What has become of me could happen only in America,” she also said later in her testimony.

Many expressed fear over the eventual replacement of the Associate Justice, which could take place before the 2020 election’s outcome. Ginsburg, who served on the Supreme Court since 1993, consistently sided with liberal opinions during her tenure.

Now, thanks to a rule implemented in 2013, it would only take a 51-vote majority to confirm a justice, as opposed to the previous 60. A vacancy opened on the Court this close to a Presidential election has never been filled prior to the Election Day.

Since Republicans have an at least 53 members until the new legislative term begins on January 3, 2021, a nominee by President Donald Trump could almost certainly receive approval. That would effectively turn the Court into a conservative supermajority of 6 out of 9 justices, meaning all 3 branches will be controlled by the right (unless, of course, Trump is voted out before such an event).

RBG, you are a super hero🕊♥️For those that don’t know, she spent every day fighting for equal rights, women’s rights,…

Posted by Demi Lovato on Friday, September 18, 2020

Trump had already released a short list of candidates for a seat on the Court earlier this month. It included Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Howley (R-MO) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and U.S. Circuit Court Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan.

While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already announced that a new SCOTUS nominee “will receive a vote on the floor”, some Republican Senators have previously vowed not to vote before Election Day.

Even Trump chose to focus on Ginsburg’s legacy, responding to news of her passing – which he claims took him by surprise, when asked following a campaign rally – by saying that the Justice was “an amazing woman — whether you agreed [with her] or not…who led an amazing life.”

“I am sad to hear that,” Trump concluded. Later, he issued a statement further mourning her and ordered for the lowering of the White House flag.

Still, the President is expected to announce a nominee “in the coming days”, sources reported to ABC News.

Ginsburg’s “most fervent” dying wish was that “I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,” reports indicate she told her granddaughter in recent days.

 

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LGBTQ champion Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dead at 87

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