Groups plan vigil outside Supreme Court and national solidarity events to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg
National advocacy groups joined together Saturday to organize a candlelight vigil outside the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.—and encourage solidarity events across the country—to honor the legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday after a long battle with cancer at the age of 87.
"She gave all she could, with literally all she had. Now it's our turn," says a Facebook event for the D.C. gathering, hosted by Women's March, Planned Parenthood Action, Demand Justice, and UltraViolet. "Tonight, join us in front of the U.S. Supreme Court at 8 pm ET" or "in solidarity at your local courthouse."
Leaders of the groups planning the event in the nation's capital have added their voices to a flood of tributes recognizing Ginsburg's dedication to equality and justice as well as calls for the GOP-controlled Senate to resist confirming her replacement before the November election—keeping with the made-up rule that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) created in 2016 to block a vote on outgoing President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland.
"We demand that the Senate not move to replace her until a new president is sworn in," Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director of UltraViolet, said in a statement Friday. In some states, early voting has already started for the high-stakes contest between President Donald Trump and the Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden—who has also called for the upper chamber to stick with the approach it took before the 2016 election.
"We must uphold the work she committed herself to until the end by protecting it and expanding it. And we must commit our all to the critical work of the next 45 days to ensure that a new administration is in the White House come January to fulfill her dying wish," added Thomas, referencing the deathbed message Ginsburg dictated to her granddaughter—her "fervent wish" that she would not be replaced on the high court "until a new president is installed."
Demand Justice executive director Brian Fallon tweeted a list of top priorities:
"On behalf of Planned Parenthood's 16 million supporters and people across the country whose lives and rights would be in jeopardy if President Trump was able to confirm another nominee to the highest court in the land," declared Alexis McGill Johnson, the group's president, "we vow to honor the legacy of Justice Ginsburg and approach the coming months like the future of our country depends on it—because it absolutely does."