Wednesday morning, the Supreme Court of the United States announced the decisions of two landmark gay rights/marriage cases--United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry. Regarding the first case, the Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (D.O.M.A) in a badly divided 5-4 split. As far as the latter case goes, the Supreme Court split 5-4 again and held that the petitioners in the case (private citizens) did not have standing and thus, Prop 8 remains unconstitutional and gay marriage resumes in the state of California. Now, what the Court did NOT say was that gay marriage is constitutionally protected; however, the Court did rule that gay couples cannot be denied the same benefits heterosexual couples receiver.
Now, my office in the Rayburn House Office Building is a short two minute walk from the Supreme Court. Did y'all seriously think Taryn--Supreme Court and constitutional law nerd--would miss this? Of course not, which is why the other interns and myself rushed over there to be a part of all the action! We even got to stand on the courtroom steps--perks of being a part of the staff! The best part was seeing the attorneys for Windsor walk about the Court hand-in-hand and tears in their eyes. It was an incredible moment in history, and I am proud to say that I witnessed it personally. And of course, I am overjoyed with the Court's decision. Marriage equality for all!
The Supreme Court after the cases were decided! Look at all the people!
Equality over everything! The victorious lawyers celebrating!
#Amen #EqualityOverAll
All the reporters on hand for this historic day at the High Court.
Immediately after work, I attended our second UGA Honors in Washington luncheon at McKenna, Long and Aldridge. It's always nice getting to meet up with everyone from the program. Of course, a free and delicious lunch is always appreciated as well!
Today was a pretty busy day at work! All in all, I wrote four 499's--remember those are unsolicited letters sent out to our constituents to keep them informed--among other tasks. Oh, and our phones were off the hook thanks to the madness at the Supreme Court! But I live for busy days on the Hill. They make the day go by much faster. And you never quite know who you'll bump into! On my way back from the Capitol to Rayburn in the very exclusive underground Subway, I ran into Congressman John Conyers from Detroit. Since my mother and a good chunk of my family is from Detroit, I've always respected Rep. Conyers for his leadership and his work for the African American community. I finally got the courage to introduce to myself to him. He was extremely nice, and he even let me ride in the Member's Only elevator with him. Afterwards, he gave me his personal card and told me to give him a call so we could set up a meeting in his office sometime. Man, I love my job.
I got off work a little late, so I decided to treat myself and attend another fabulous reception. Of course, there were free cocktails and delicious appetizers. I even mingled around and made some new connections! But the thing that capped off my entire day was the packages I received in the mail from my family and friends. My Aunt Maxine sent me a beautiful calender and wrote me an inspiring and encouraging letter. And my parents send me the greatest care package ever! To top off all the goodies and treats they sent me was Justice Sonia Sotomayor's autobiography. Talk about inspiration!
UPDATE: The autobiography was SIGNED PERSONALLY by Justice Sotomayor herself! She wrote: Taryn, thank you for caring so much. Stay (word I can't quite make out) in your life! Signed, Sonia Sotomayor! My mother is the BEST! I don't know how she pulled this off, but she always pulls through for her baby girl.
My parents know me so well! Look at all that coffee!
Oh, I just love this woman. Can I be her when I grow up?
Needless to say, I had an amazing day. Scratch that, I had a HISTORIC day. One day, my kids will ask me where I was when the Supreme Court decided two landmark gay rights cases; I can tell them with immense pride that I was there...literally! I am too blessed beyond words.
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