Top US judge to officiate at same-sex wedding

WASHINGTON DC, USA – US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg is to officiate at a gay wedding on Saturday, August 31, after voting in favor of same-sex marriage during landmark rulings in June, a spokesman said Friday, August 30. 

Ginsburg, who at the age of 80 is the oldest justice on the highest US court and one of 4 progressive judges on the nine-member panel.

A Supreme Court spokeswoman said Ginsburg was to preside over the wedding of Kennedy Center President Michael M Kaiser and economist John Roberts.

The Washington Post quoted Ginsburg as saying she was looking forward to helping the couple tie the knot.

“I think it will be one more statement that people who love each other and want to live together should be able to enjoy the blessings and the strife in the marriage relationship,” she told the Post.

In June, the US Supreme Court voted for the repeal of the defense of traditional marriage, which prevented same-sex couples from enjoying the same rights as heterosexual couples.

It also effectively legalized gay marriage in California. Ginsburg had voted in both cases in favor of marriage rights.

Gays and lesbians can legally marry in 14 out of 50 US States and, since 2009, in Washington. – Rappler.com

Miniature homosexual couple image from Shutterstock