Edie Windsor, right
Edie Windsor is among the 10 finalists for Time magazine’s Person of the Year.
Windsor is the New York widow who was required to pay $265,000 in estate taxes because she was married to a woman rather than a man. She filed suit, challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. The U.S. Supreme Court found in her favor in June.
That decision has had dramatic effect on the lives of gays and lesbians. Couples may now file joint tax returns and receive from Social Security as a surviving spouse. The military is granting equal benefits to same-sex couples. A number of corporations, such as ExxonMobil, finally offered partner benefits as a result of the ruling.
She would be the first woman named Person of the Year in 30 years and the only openly LGBT person ever named. The Person of the Year will be announced tomorrow.
According to GLAAD, the other finalists on the list are:
• Bashar Assad — President of Syria
• Jeff Bezos — founder of Amazon
• Sen. Ted Cruz
• Miley Cyrus
• Pope Francis
• President Obama
• Hassan Rouhani — President of Iran
• Kathleen Sebelius — Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Edward Snowden — NSA leaker
