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San Antonio community reflects on death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

A St. Mary's University law professor says it's likely Ginsburg's passing will lead to a political battle just weeks before Election Day.

SAN ANTONIO — Dozens of people gathered outside the Bexar County Courthouse to celebrate the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday in Washington D.C.

Ginsburg served 27 years on the nation’s highest court.

“Justice Ginsburg was and is an inspiration to us throughout our practice and our lives,” said Marisa Bono, a local civil rights lawyer and the former chief of policy for Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

“For three decades, as one of the only women on the Supreme Court, she fought for equality and justice and we know that everyone here believes in those ideals and is here because they contribute to those ideals and is ready to carry forward the torch for her," she said.

Other speakers echoed that sentiment.

“She held on so long," said Celina Moreno. "She was such a survivor and a fighter. We have to keep the fight up to follow in her footsteps, to keep fighting.”

“Her work has changed America for generations," said Lydia Camarillo, Executive Director of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and the William C. Velasquez Institute. “We must organize. We must call our U.S. Senators and demand that they honor RBG's last wish, that her replacement be named by the next President.”

St. Mary’s University law professor Albert Kauffman reflected on Ginsburg as a pioneer for equality.

“She was one of the major forces behind creating equal opportunity rights for women. “She was also strong on other equal protection issues, civil rights for African Americans and Latinos,” Kauffman said.

Ginsburg’s connection to St. Mary’s University School of Law is on a global scale.

“For one or two summers, she went to Innsbruck (Austria) and participated as a professor in our program there, the St. Mary’s program in Innsbruck, so several members of my faculty have gotten to know here personally,” Kauffman said.

Just days before Ginsburg’s death, she told her granddaughter she wished her replacement on the U.S. Supreme Court would be selected by a new president.

Now there are eight sitting justices and only six weeks remain until Election Day. Meanwhile, Republican leaders in Washington D.C. are pushing to fill the open seat while top Democrats are vying to delay any nomination. 

“There’s no doubt that the power to appoint a Supreme Court justice is a factor in political races and I think everyone who looked at the 2016 election felt that it was a factor,” Kauffman said.

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