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AMY CAVANAUGH
Friday, September 05, 2008
Del
Martin,
a
longtime
gay
rights
activist
and
the
first
to
wed
her
partner
when
same-sex
marriage
was
legalized
this
year
in
California,
is
being
remembered
as
an
icon
within
the
movement.
“We
have
lost
one
of
our
historical
giants
who
will
be
fondly
and
gratefully
remembered,”
said
Frank
Kameny,
a
gay
activist
in
Washington
who
knew
Martin.
“With
the
departure
of
Del
Martin,
we
have
just
lost
one
of
the
very
last
of
the
few
remaining
founding
mothers
and
fathers
of
the
gay
movement.”
Martin
died
Aug.
27
at
age
87.
She
is
survived
by
her
wife,
Phyllis
Lyon,
with
whom
she
fought
for
gay
rights
advances,
health
care
access
and
support
for
battered
women.
Martin,
who
earned
a
journalism
degree
from
the
University
of
California,
met
Lyon
when
they
worked
together
at
a
Seattle
newspaper
in
1950.
The
two
joined
with
six
other
lesbians
in
1955
to
form
the
Daughters
of
Bilitis,
the
first
lesbian
rights
organization.
They
soon
began
publication
of
The
Ladder,
the
first
widely
circulated
lesbian
newsletter,
which
drew
new
visibility
to
the
then-fledgling
gay
rights
movement.
Martin,
who
edited
The
Ladder
for
three
years,
was
the
first
lesbian
elected
to
the
National
Organization
for
Women’s
board
of
directors.
There
she
helped
lead
the
organization
to
pass
a
resolution
stating
that
lesbian
issues
were
feminist
issues.
Martin
co-wrote
with
Lyon
“Lesbian/Woman,”
a
1972
book
that
argued
lesbians
should
be
seen
for
more
than
their
sexuality.
The
same
year,
Martin
and
Lyon
co-founded
the
Alice
B.
Toklas
Democratic
Club,
the
first
gay
political
club
in
the
United
States.
In
February
2004,
the
pair
became
the
first
same-sex
couple
married
in
California.
The
California
Supreme
Court
later
voided
the
license,
ruling
that
San
Francisco
Mayor
Gavin
Newsom
had
exceeded
his
legal
authority
in
allowing
same-sex
couples
to
obtain
licenses.
In
response,
Martin
and
Lyon
joined
several
other
gay
couples
to
take
a
new
case
for
equality
to
the
California
Supreme
Court.
That
case
resulted
in
the
court
granting
same-sex
couples
the
right
to
marry.
Martin
and
Lyon
wed
again
June
16.
“Ever
since
I
met
Del
55
years
ago,
I
could
never
imagine
a
day
would
come
when
she
wouldn’t
be
by
my
side.
I
am
so
lucky
to
have
known
her,
loved
her,
and
been
her
partner
in
all
things,”
Lyon
said
in
a
statement
released
in
the
aftermath
of
Martin’s
death.
“I
am
devastated,
but
I
take
some
solace
in
knowing
we
were
able
to
enjoy
the
ultimate
rite
of
love
and
commitment
before
she
passed.”
‘A
sense
of
hope’
Several
local
and
national
gay
activists
responded
to
Martin’s
death
with
sadness,
but
praised
her
work.
“I
think
Del
Martin
and
her
partner
Phyllis
created
a
sense
of
normality
and
a
sense
of
channeling
their
frustration
and
disappointment
at
society’s
rejection
into
their
activism
and
in
founding
the
Daughters
of
Bilitis,”
said
Mark
Meinke,
chair
of
the
Rainbow
History
Project,
which
collects
and
preserves
gay
rights
materials.
Meinke
noted
that
Martin
helped
give
“American
lesbians
and
lesbians
around
the
world
a
sense
of
hope
and
a
sense
of
normality,
of
being
perfectly
normal
people
with
lives
to
live
and
rights
to
claim.
I
don’t
think
that
Del
Martin
ever
stopped
pressing
for
rights,
pressing
for
recognition,
pressing
for
acceptance.”
Kate
Kendell,
executive
director
of
the
National
Center
for
Lesbian
Rights,
said
in
a
statement
that
Martin
was
“a
real
hero.”
“For
all
of
Del’s
life,
she
was
an
activist
and
organizer
even
before
we
knew
what
those
terms
meant,”
she
said.
“Her
last
act
of
public
activism
was
her
most
personal
—
marrying
the
love
of
her
life
after
55
years.
In
the
wake
of
losing
her,
we
recognize
with
heightened
clarity
the
most
poignant
and
responsible
way
to
honor
her
legacy
is
to
preserve
the
right
of
marriage
for
same-sex
couples,
thereby
providing
the
dignity
and
respect
that
Del
and
Phyllis’
love
deserved.”
Eva
Freund,
a
lesbian
activist
in
Washington,
said
she
could
not
imagine
“any
other
individual
filling
the
void”
left
by
Martin’s
death.
“She
did
so
much
in
so
many
arenas,
and
she
was
certainly
one
of
the
shining
stars
of
the
universe,”
Freund
said.
“I
think
what’s
important
is
not
so
much
what
her
legacy
will
be,
but
that
it
be
maintained.”
Joan
Biren,
a
filmmaker
who
wrote
and
directed
“No
Secret
Anymore:
The
Times
of
Del
Martin
&
Phyllis
Lyon,”
said
she’ll
remember
Martin
as
“a
very
imposing
person.”
“As
she
aged,
she
became
frail
and
more
slight,
but
she
was
a
big,
strong,
dykey
presence,
and
I
loved
that,”
Biren
said.
“But
at
the
same
time,
she
had
this
really
great
wit
and
sparkle
in
her
eye
and
sense
of
humor
and
she
was
always
ready
to
debate
politics
at
any
moment.”
Biren
likened
Martin
to
Martin
Luther
King,
Jr.,
and
Cesar
Chavez
as
a
leader
their
movement
“could
not
have
done
without.”
“I
don’t
mean
to
take
anything
away
from
the
men,
like
Frank
Kameny,
who
were
also
wonderful
pioneers,
but
lesbians
wouldn’t
be
a
party
to
this
movement
if
it
had
just
been
up
to
the
men,”
she
said.
“Del
took
them
on,
way
back
in
the
1960s,
to
make
sure
that
women
were
included.”
‘A
living
legacy’
Martin’s
death
received
attention
from
national
figures,
including
Democratic
presidential
nominee
Barack
Obama.
“Michelle
and
I
were
deeply
saddened
to
hear
that
Del
Martin
had
passed,”
Obama
said
in
a
statement.
“Del
committed
her
life
to
fighting
discrimination
and
promoting
equality.
Our
thoughts
and
prayers
go
out
to
her
spouse
Phyllis
Lyon,
and
all
those
who
were
touched
by
her
life.”
Newsom,
who
married
Martin
and
Lyon
in
2004
and
2008,
spoke
to
reporters
at
the
Democratic
National
Convention
about
Martin’s
death.
“It’s
hard
to
describe
my
respect
and
admiration
for
Phyllis
Lyon
and
Del
Martin,
what
they’ve
done
to
change
this
country
and
to
change
...
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