Culture

To Honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Legacy, We Must Turn Our Grief Into Action


 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life and career were a beacon of hope for people who live at society’s margins, and she rightfully became a pop culture icon admired for her fierce determination in the face of gendered barriers to the legal profession. She worked as a dedicated public servant who faced down multiple health scares as she tried — through a tireless workout regimen amid numerous medical procedures — to live as long as she could to help preserve the ideological balance of the Supreme Court.

Yet her longevity past the November election wasn’t in the stars: At the outset of Rosh Hashanah, Ginsburg became one of our ancestors, taking her rest after a lifetime of fighting the good fight. Now it’s up to those of us who remain to not surrender to fear, but to mobilize, to organize, and vote like we’ve never voted before.

Despite the surge of grief, remember: All is not lost for LGBTQ+ people.

Like many others, my heart sank when news of her passing spread on social media. For months, if not years, I’d been rooting for her health to hold steady, all while remembering that she’s human and a beloved family member first and that she deserved better than feeling the pressure to work during her last days.

But here we are, navigating hopelessness and despair, during a pandemic and particularly on the eve of an election that has already been targeted by the GOP’s attempts at voter suppression and Donald Trump’s attacks on vote by mail. Trump has diminished the ability of the United States Postal Service to sort, deliver, and process election-related mail, and he has implied that he won’t ensure a steady transition of power if he loses to Joe Biden.

Making matters worse, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell is all but hellbent on being an unrepentant hypocrite who would rather push through a Supreme Court justice appointment less than 50 days before the election. Just four years ago, McConnell was responsible for blocking Obama pick Merrick Garland after Justice Antonin Scalia passed away, and yet he dismissed Ginsburg’s dying wish that her replacement would only be made by the winner of November’s election.

In fact, McConnell couldn’t even wait two hours after the news of Ginsburg’s passing before announcing an opportunistic move to possibly rile up the GOP’s voting base.

Ginsburg’s death paints a bleak picture for the future of LGBTQ+ rights in the courts. The justice voted affirmatively on cases regarding whether LGBTQ+ people are a protected class, gay sex should be decriminalized, and same-sex couples should have the right to marry. She was also unwavering in her view of reproductive rights, as well as voting rights that activists in the Civil Rights Movement fought for. Without her presence on the Supreme Court — or a replacement who mirrors her legal viewpoints — the court will tip to a 6-3 conservative majority and jeopardize LGBTQ+ rights for a generation.

The result stands to be devastating for many marginalized communities. It could end up gutting Roe v. Wade, trigger rollbacks on anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination protections, and rulings that would thwart accountability for the racialized abuse of policing powers.

That prospect wasn’t lost on the many Democrats, leftists, and otherwise politically aware people who channeled their trepidation toward resources that could preserve a majority in the House and flip the Senate in November. The fundraising platform ActBlue reported a record $91.4 million raised in 28 hours for Democratic candidates following the news of Ginsburg’s death. According to RealClearPolitics, at least seven Senate races are considered “toss ups” that could shift party control of the chamber.

One race stands out in particular: In Arizona, Democrat Mark Kelly faces Republican incumbent Martha McSally, and polls show Kelly leading by 6.7 points. The runoff is a special election, meaning that if he wins, he takes office in November. Having an extra seat in the Senate before January could allow Democrats to block any Supreme Court pick put forward by Trump.



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