[Glenn.]

Edith Windsor

In 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right — a landmark decision that would not have been possible without Edith Windsor.

After a 40-year engagement, Windsor married Thea Spyer in Canada in 2007. Spyer passed away just two years later, leaving everything to her wife. Because the US did not recognize their same-sex marriage, Windsor was asked to pay taxes on Spyer’s estate far beyond what a heterosexual spouse would be required to pay on the estate of their deceased spouse.
Windsor took her case to court and in 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in her favour. Two years later, the court expanded on that ruling in another case that led to federal recognition of same-sex marriages.