Rest In Power.
Gay rights activist Edith Windsor has passed away aged 88, her wife Judith Kasen-Windsor confirmed to the New York Times.
Windsor’s Supreme Court case back in 2013 overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, giving same-sex married couples federal recognition in the US for the first time.
After her previous wife, Thea Spyer, died she sued the US government after being ordered to pay $363,053 (£224,940) in federal estate tax.
They had been together for 44 years and married in Canada in 2007.
Edith – known as Edie – argued that the law in place at the time was unconstitutional as the provision of the law which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman prevented her from getting a tax reduction.
The US Supreme Court agreed in the landmark ruling back in 2013, and it triggered a wave of further court rulings which granted equal rights for same-sex couples.
“The world lost a tiny but tough-as-nails fighter for freedom, justice and equality,” her wife Judith Kasen-Windsor was quoted as saying.
“Edie was the light of my life. She will always be the light for the LGBTQ community, which she loved so much and which loved her right back.”
Former US president Barack Obama also paid tribute in a statement: “America’s long journey towards equality has been guided by countless small acts of persistence and fuelled by the stubborn willingness of quiet heroes to speak out for what’s right.
“Few were as small in stature as Edie Windsor – and few made as big a difference to America.”
Edie passed away in New York. A cause of death has not been given, but it’s understood that she has struggled with heart issues for some time.
