ST. LOUIS — "She would come to the joint sessions of Congress. We would be cordial and speak or we would be out at social gatherings in D.C.," said Missouri First District Congressman Lacy Clay.
Congressman Clay says whenever he and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg crossed paths, it was indeed an honor.
"She is the iconic figure who believed in the 14th amendment to the Constitution which says all of us are created equal," said Congressman Clay.
He says the 87-year-old and second woman appointed to the nation's highest court was a champion for justice for all Americans, especially women.
"Whether you were a woman, whether you were L.G.B.T.Q., whether you were a minority, whether you were disabled, she was for you, ensuring that those who had been marginalized were treated equally," Clay stated during an interview on Saturday.
Historians call Ginsburg, known around the world by her initials R.B.G., the Supreme Court's "feminist icon." A strong liberal, who not only changed the law but researchers say Ginsburg "also transformed the roles of men and women in society."
"She was either the fourth of the fifth justice in these rulings. She led the progressive wing of the Court and she made a difference in these cases. Also, think about where she started her life. As a Jewish woman brought up in Brooklyn, she was treated as a second class citizen and throughout her life, she fought against that. R.B.G. bent the moral arc of the universe toward justice and we need to honor that," said Congressman Clay.
On Saturday, dozens of people gathered outside the old courthouse downtown to pay tribute to Justice Ginsburg during a "Defend the Democracy Rally" hosted by the group St. Louis Women's March.
"We will never forget Justice Ginsburg. We are all people and that is something that R.B.G. represented absolutely everybody," said Dana Kelly, the Executive Director of St. Louis Women's March.
"And Ginsburg didn't just quietly file her dissent with the clerk," shouted one speaker to the huge crowd during Saturday's rally.
The outspoken, trailblazer for justice, is now gone, but Ginsburg's admirers say her legacy will live on.
"She left us in a better place than where she found us. I would hope that at this moment this nation could pause. We need to honor her and respect her memory," said Congressman Lacy Clay.
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