Bridgehampton Candlelight Vigil Held for Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing has generated an outpouring of emotion across the country and even across the political aisle, as vigils and memorials remember the life and legacy of the second female justice on the United State Supreme Court, who died on September 18.

“I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability,” Ginsberg once said.

As landmarks were lit blue—the color of justice—across New York State on Saturday, September 19, in Ginsburg’s memory, here on the East End of Long Island candles were lit at the Bridgehampton Community House on Saturday night to celebrate the Notorious RBG, as she became known, who died in her home in Washington, D.C. of metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 87.

“Candlelight Vigil for RBG—Come to Mourn Together, Leave with Hope” was organized by Lisa Votino, who wrote on Facebook:

Once we were able to wipe away the tears tonight, the panic set in.

What would RBG do?

She would fight for what’s right and so are we.

Let’s join together for a candlelight vigil to mourn her passing and then let’s mobilize and find out what actions we can take immediately to save our democracy.

Please bring candles, flashlights, battery-powered candles or anything that shines a light for the vigil.
Everyone must wear a mask. Hand sanitizer and gloves will be available.

“As an advocate, litigator, professor, and judge, Justice Ginsburg was an unparalleled voice for our better angels and a singular force for equality and justice throughout her extraordinary career,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. “In an era when women like her were asked why they were ‘taking the place of a man,’ she fought tirelessly to ensure our country lived up to its founding ideals, especially for all those marginalized by the status quo—from women and communities of color, to the disabled and the LGBTQ community.

In his statement about Ginsburg’s passing, Congressman Lee Zeldin said her “remarkable life has and will continue to be an inspiration for all Americans.”

President Bill Clinton, who nominated Ginsberg to the Supreme Court in 1993, told CNN, “I was very, very determined that whoever I put on the court would be on the level and would see the people first and understand the human impact. And she really did. She had this uncanny ability to be very much in the weeds, if you will, of the intellectual legal arguments and yet never lose sight of the human impact of her decisions.”