An honour well deserved!

West Hollywood library is going to be renamed in honour of the late U.S. Supreme Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The West Hollywood City Council made the decision after 3-2 vote.

Speaking on the new change, councilmember Sepi Shyne, states: “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an icon for women, for the LGBT community, for workers and every progressive value that West Hollywood hold.”

WeHo is known by many as a prominent LGBTQ+ neighbourhood in southern California.

Sepi continued: “Ginsburg fundamentally expanded access to the American promise of liberty and equality for all. Her legacy is felt by all of us…even though she may not have lived in West Hollywood, her decisions have affected positively every person living in West Hollywood.”

Although many have embraced the impending name change, councilmember John Erickson and mayor Lindsey Horvath want there to be more resident input in the decision.

“This is about making sure that the public is involved in the conversation and that the process considers everyone fairly,” said Mayor Horvath.

She continued: “I would like to see our process, being the progressive city that we are, open to considering other names and allow for a public process that considers other names, in no way diminishing RBG.”

The name change now has to be approved by Los Angeles County, since the WeHo library is part of the L.A. county library system.

With a career spanning six decades, Ginsburg achieved many milestones and helped make huge strides for women’s rights. Attending law school at Harvard and then later Columbia, Ginsburg went on to not only graduate top of her class but to come back and teach at the institution. 

Her achievements didn’t stop there – as a lawyer, she won monumental cases that helped shape the women’s rights movement, including Reed v. Reed, Frontiero v. Richardson, and more. 

Ginsburg was also viewed as an important ally to the LGBTQ+ community and fought for LGBTQ+ rights over the years.

Her votes have helped shape many positive landmark decisions concerning the LGBTQ+ community. She contributed to the legalization of gay marriage in every U.S. state, pushed back against proposed anti-gay discrimination laws, and more.