Ruth Bader Ginsberg pays tribute to Antonin Scalia
Long time equality foe and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died on Saturday from a suspected heart attack at a Texas ranch at age 79.
The justice had dissented against LGBT equality on nearly every issue. From the court decision throwing out sodomy laws, to marriage equality, Scalia was clearly not a fan of the queer community. He openly compared the rights of gay people to pedophiles and incestuous couples.
But, he was also good friends with fellow Justice, Ruth Bder Ginsberg, who was as far left as he was right. I mean, she married same sex couples last year after they passed marriage equality.
Despite their polar opposite views in court and disagreement on nearly every case, the pair were also such good friends that an opera was even written about them, Scalia/Ginsburg.
In her statement, Ginsburg references the opera and its exploration of the pair’s friendship.
Toward the end of the opera Scalia/Ginsburg, tenor Scalia and soprano Ginsburg sing a duet: ‘We are different, we are one,’ different in our interpretation of written texts, one in our reverence for the Constitution and the institution we serve.
From our years together at the D.C. Circuit, we were best buddies. We disagreed now and then, but when I wrote for the Court and received a Scalia dissent, the opinion ultimately released was notably better than my initial circulation.
Justice Scalia nailed all the weak spots—the ‘applesauce’ and ‘argle bargle’—and gave me just what I needed to strengthen the majority opinion.
He was a jurist of captivating brilliance and wit, with a rare talent to make even the most sober judge laugh. The press referred to his ‘energetic fervor,’ ‘astringent intellect,’ ‘peppery prose,’ ‘acumen,’ and ‘affability,’ all apt descriptions.
He was eminently quotable, his pungent opinions so clearly stated that his words never slipped from the reader’s grasp.
Justice Scalia once described as the peak of his days on the bench an evening at the Opera Ball when he joined two Washington National Opera tenors at the piano for a medley of songs.
He called it the famous Three Tenors performance. He was, indeed, a magnificent performer. It was my great good fortune to have known him as working colleague and treasured friend.
