LISTEN: Edie Windsor's Message for Florida Governor Rick Scott

The woman whose lawsuit effectively dismantled the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, clearing the way for the federal government to recognize same-sex marriage, has a few words for one Republican governor stubbornly refusing to let marriage equality come to his state. 

Edie Windsor, the 85-year-old widow who successfully sued the U.S. government after it refused to recognize her marriage to her late wife, Thea Syper, has written a letter to Florida governor Rick Scott. And to really get at the heart of the matter, the mild-mannered widow has teamed up with Equality Florida to record a reading of her letter, published to YouTube Tuesday. 

The Republican governor recently came under criticism from a local news anchor for trying to distance himself from his state's stalwart defense of marriage discrimination, saying he has "nothing to do" with Attorney General Pam Bondi's dogged defense of the state's ban on same-sex marriage , which has been ruled unconstitutional in five separate courts, including by a federal judge in August. 

Windsor's message to Governor Scott, who is fighting for reelection against former governor and marriage equality supporter Charlie Crist, points to the conservative credentials of the judges who ruled in her favor in federal appeals court and in the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Windsor v. U.S.

"The two extremely positive decisions in favor of marriage equality were Justice Jacobs' decision in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Kennedy's decision in the Supreme Court, both self-described conservatives," Windsor says in the audio recording. "Five judges in Florida have also ruled that it's wrong to exclude same-sex couples from marriage. And the majority of Floridians agree. My dear Governor Scott, I implore you to use the power of your office to allow loving couples to marry now in your state."

Listen to Windsor's reading below, via Equality Florida.