Hundreds Gather at Vigil for Ruth Bader Ginsburg in San Francisco Castro District
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Several hundred people gathered at Harvey Milk Plaza in San Francisco Friday evening to honor U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died earlier in the day.
San Francisco police said the gathering was peaceful.
Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 87.
She died surrounded by her family at her home in Washington, D.C.
Ginsburg was a lifelong champion of women's rights and an advocate for gender equality. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993 after being confirmed by a Senate vote of 96 to 3.
Following word of Ginsburg's death House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement:
"The loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is devasting. Justice Ginsberg embodied justice, brilliance and goodness, and her passing is an incalculable loss for our democracy and for all who sacrifice and strive to build a better future for our children.
"Every family in America benefited from her brilliant legacy and courage. Over the course of her quarter century as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsberg became an icon, inspiring people around the world with her tenacity, towering intellect and devotion to the American promise of equality and opportunity for all. Her tireless advocacy in the fight for gender equality, whether working at the ACLU, arguing cases before the Supreme Court or authoring thoughtful and historic opinions and dissents as an Associate Justice, leaves an enduring legacy of progress for all women. Her opinions have unequivocally cemented the precedent that all men and women are created equal.
"We must honor Justice Ginsburg's trailblazing career and safeguard her powerful legacy by ensuring that the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court upholds her commitment to equality, opportunity and justice for all. May it be a source of comfort to her children, Jane and James, her grandchildren Paul, Clara, Miranda and Abigail, and loved ones that so many people around the world mourn their loss and are praying for them at this sad time."
