WASHINGTON — If Thea Spyer, whose death in 2009 set the
stage for Wednesday’s landmark Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, were
still alive, she might tell her partner, Edith Windsor, “You did it, honey!”
Windsor, who is Jewish and just turned 84 just a few days
ago, spoke those words at a triumphant news conference at a gay and lesbian
center in Manhattan, hours after the Supreme Court threw out a central part of
the Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA.
Windsor sued the federal government after she was forced to
pay additional estate taxes because it did not recognize her marriage to Spyer
under DOMA. Windsor will now be able to claim a $363,000 tax refund, plus
interest.
Windsor said the news had brought tears of joy.
“What a way to celebrate the life of my beloved Thea,” said
Windsor, who wore a beaming smile.
The decision opens the door for same-sex couples in the 12
states that allow it, plus Washington D.C., to receive federal benefits, and
has turned Windsor into an icon.
“It’s an accident of history that put me here,” said
Windsor. “If Thea had been Theo,” everything would have been different, she
said.
Windsor, a New York resident and former IBM consultant, and
Spyer, a psychologist, met in the 1960s in a New York restaurant and spent four
decades engaged to be married before they finally tied the knot in Canada in
2007.
Windsor remained closeted for years and wore a circle
diamond pin rather than an engagement ring to hide the truth.
“Internalized homophobia is a bitch,” she said. “I lied all
the time.”
Now, the legal fight behind her, Windsor said she is looking
forward to a quiet retirement.
“I don’t have a ton of years left and I would like to relax
a little bit,” said Windsor.
With that, she stepped out into the center’s atrium, where a
cramped crowd of people whooped with joy and chanted her name.
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