Gay Marriage Ceremony Officiated By Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in Washington DC
Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor officiated a same-sex wedding in the federal Supreme Court's lawyers' lounge earlier this week in Washington, D.C. This is the second of such ceremonies to take place, as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg also officiated a same-sex marriage earlier this year.
Katy Arberg, an official spokesperson for the Supreme Court, said the ceremony took place Tuesday in the lawyers' lounge of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. for Jeffrey Trammell and Stuart Serkin of Washington. Trammell is the former rector at William & Mary, a public research college in Williamsburg, Va. Trammell worked with O'Connor at the college when the retired Supreme Court justice served as the school's chancellor.
"Having Jeff Trammell, William & Mary's former Rector, and his partner of many years, Stuart Serkin, married by Justice O'Connor, W&M's former Chancellor, in a ceremony at the United States Supreme Court is quite wonderful," said William & Mary President Taylor Reveley in a wedding announcement posted on the college's website.
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Earlier this year, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg officiated a same-sex marriage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. for her longtime friend Michael Kaiser, who runs the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and government economist John Roberts. Although Ginsburg officiated a wedding before O'Connor, the wedding performed this past Tuesday is believed to be the first same-sex wedding to take place at the Supreme Court building.
The Supreme Court justices are able to officiate same-sex marriages after the Supreme Court ruled in June to lift a key provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, allowing same-sex couples to receive the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples.
After officiating the same-sex wedding in late August, Ginsburg was slammed by Liberty Counsel Action, a partner of the Christian legal nonprofit Liberty Counsel, for her actions. In a YouTube video published in early September, Matt Barber, Vice President of Liberty Counsel Action, said Ginsburg brought "shame to America and further shame to the United States Supreme Court by officiating" the same-sex marriage.
