Edie Windsor at DC Pride parade, 2007 Photograph by Rex Block.
Born in 1929 on June 20th in Philadelphia, PA --> Died on September 12, 2017 in Manhattan, New York
She was born into a Russian Jewish immigrant family and was the youngest of three children
Married too Saul Windsor (1951-1952); Thea Clara Spyer from (2007–2009) and then Judith Kasen from (2016–2017)
Spyer and Windsor at home in the Hamptons Screen shot from Bless Bless Productions of Edie and Thea
Thea and Edie meet in 1963 at a restaurant called Portofino in Greenwich NY… this place was known as a place “the lesbians go”
In 1967, Thea proposed on Memorial Day weekend → She gave her a diamond brooch instead of a wedding ring because a ring would be too obvious
In 1969 Edie and Thea were in a relationship but not out to the public yet. They saw the Stonewall riots ( riots to protest the treatment of LGBTQ+ people) They thought about coming out as a couple publicly but they decided it was too risky to come out
About 30 years later, people are still fighting for LGBTQ rights. But Thea was sick with Multiple sclerosis so the two go to get married in Canada.
After this they are not as secretive of their relationship but still private as the discrimation that LGBTQ people in the US still face.
It was 2009 and Thea passed away. She had Edie as her beneficiary, therefore Edie is left with land, money ect. But due to DOMA same-sex couples whose marriages where not reconsized federaly;even if it was reconized in state. So Edie was taxed half a million dollars because they did not recognize their marriage due to the fact it was same sex.
Edie was upset by this as Thea and her where married and together for so long. She called a bunch of lawyers and found one to help her. With this they brought suit against the federal government. Her case “United States v. Windsor'' went all the way to the supreme court. She argued that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional. That her marriage should be recognized and just because they were too woman does not make their love less valid.
Ater a long time fighting for justice on June 26, 201 the rulings came out and it was a 5 to 4 ruling in Edies favor. This case forever changed history and was a huge step in the LGBTQ movment.
