Jun 27, 2003  |  By: DWAUN SELLERS  | COMMENTS     

David Morris, a past president of Gays & Lesbians for Individual Liberty (GLIL), died on June 20 at his home in Taylors, S.C., from AIDS-related complications, his friend Richard Sincere said. He was 39.

A native of South Carolina, Morris relocated to the Washington, D.C., area in 1993 to oversee the campaigns of two openly gay candidates. They were Sincere, who was running for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 49th District, and Michael Ward, who was running for the Arlington County Board.

In 1994, Morris became president of Gays & Lesbians for Individual Liberty, an organization for gay Libertarians. During his tenure, he helped organize GLIL’s first Oscar Night fund-raiser for the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), as well as several other GLIL events.

“David Morris was an expert at political organizing,” Sincere said. “His special skill was in organizing petition drives for candidates and, particularly, for citizen initiatives.”

Sincere said Morris organized petition campaigns in states such as Maine, Mississippi, Illinois and Arkansas.

“And he always succeeded in getting more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, despite looming deadlines and shoestring budgets,” Sincere said.

Morris also worked with several Libertarian candidates across the country, in addition to working for U.S. Term Limits in D.C., an organization that supports limiting the terms of politicians at the local, state and congressional levels. He also co-founded Edge Magazine in Greenville, S.C.

Morris is survived by his parents, Bobby and Rosemary Bon of Greer, S.C., and his brother Daniel Bon of the Greenvile, S.C., area.

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