Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said America has come a long way in recent years on the issue of gay rights and is now ready to accept same-sex marriage as national law.
“The change in people’s attitudes on that issue has been enormous,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg. “In recent years, people have said, ’This is the way I am.’ And others looked around, and we discovered it’s our next-door neighbor — we’re very fond of them. Or, it’s our child’s best friend, or even our child. I think that as more and more people came out and said that ’this is who I am,’ the rest of us recognized that they are one of us.”
Gay marriage has made huge gains in states in recent years — mostly due to court actions. For example, in June 2013, only 12 states allowed gays to marry. Now, 37 do — the latest, Alabama, after a federal court ordered the state to throw out its ban.
Justice Ginsburg, 81, also told Bloomberg that she and President Obama share a special bond.
She said they met in 2004, and her son, James, has actually worked on one of Mr. Obama’s political campaigns.
“There was a rapport from the start between us,” Justice Ginsburg said, Bloomberg reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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