People gather for a candlelight vigil for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg near Dimond Courthouse on Saturday, Sept. 19. People shared remarks about some of Ginsburg’s most famous decisions during the event. Some expressed hopes her seat would not be filled until after Election Day. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

People gather for a candlelight vigil for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg near Dimond Courthouse on Saturday, Sept. 19. People shared remarks about some of Ginsburg’s most famous decisions during the event. Some expressed hopes her seat would not be filled until after Election Day. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Opinion: Loyalty to Alaska citizens not to the Republican Party, please

This is not a rush decision to be made in a month before election.

  • Nanci Spear
  • Thursday, September 24, 2020 11:37am
  • Opinion

We need both Alaskan Senators to not be obedient to the senator from Kentucky and to restore some faith in government. Loyalty to Alaska citizens not to the Republican Party please.

To choose the right woman to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court is a good first step. That woman will be there because of RBG. RBG chose a path to lead the fight against gender discrimination and successfully argued six cases before the Supreme Court. These cases resulted in widowers being able to receive Social Security benefits and women being represented on juries. She founded the American Civil Liberties Union’s Women’s Rights Project. Those were her qualifications for her appointment.

Women may attend elite military academies because of RBG’s work. They take active roles serving on front lines and as pilots and officers. RBG argued for equal rights for everyone to decide whom to marry and share benefits and be allowed in hospital rooms as family. She argued for integration of disabled persons to live in society. Equal pay for equal work became law through her work but clearly has further to go. Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought for voters rights. She fought for women’s health care to be equal to men’s. We don’t just need a woman on the Supreme Court, we need a woman who has proven herself to fight for equal rights and representation.

This is not a rush decision to be made in a month before election.

• Nanci Spear is a retired mathematics specialist for the state of Alaska

More in Opinion

Web
Have something to say?

Here’s how to add your voice to the conversation.

Looking up at the 1882 Edward Webster House on Telephone Hill from Second Street and Main Street in January 2024. (Photo by Laurie Craig)
Opinion: Juneau Assembly holds firm on Telephone Hill development

In a rare moment of near unanimity during a special Assembly meeting… Continue reading

A ninth grader places her cellphone in to a phone holder as she enters class at Delta High School on Feb. 23 in Delta, Utah. Most schools have policies regulating student cellphone use at school. But the reality is kids don’t always follow the rules and schools enforce them sporadically. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Opinion: The problem education funding and reforms can’t fix

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is right. Increasing the Base Student Allocation funding for… Continue reading

(Juneau Emire file photo)
Opinion: Some state lawmakers need to embrace reality, not PFD political theater

It was a polar-opposite week in the Legislature. While the Senate Finance… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks in March of 2023 in support of an agreement between the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and Goldbelt Inc. to pursue engineering and design services to determine whether it’s feasible to build a new ferry terminal facility in Juneau at Cascade Point. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Cascade Point, AMHOB, and DOT’s stonewalling strategy

On Tuesday a joint session of the Legislature is scheduled to hold… Continue reading

(City and Borough of Juneau photo)
Opinion: Juneau school board veers off-course

Last week’s Juneau School District (JSD) Board of Education meeting, expected to… Continue reading

Most Read