First the bad news:
Lesbian rights pioneer Del Martin, whose trailblazing activism spanned more than five decades, most recently in the battle for same-sex marriage, died Wednesday, just two months after she made history again by wedding her longtime partner in San Francisco City Hall....Now the good news:
Ms. Martin's crusading began in 1955, during an era in America known more for social conformity than for rebellion, when she co-founded a lesbian social-turned-political organization, Daughters of Bilitis, named after a 19th century book of lesbian love poetry.
This year, on June 16, she and her partner of 55 years, Phyllis Lyon, were legally wed.
The gap between those who support and those who oppose same-sex marriage is closing, and a poll indicates that backing for a proposition to ban such marriages is lagging....I can't think of any more fitting tribute to Del Martin's extraordinary life than defeating Proposition 8.
The results suggest that 54 percent of likely voters will say no to Proposition 8, the proposal to ban same-sex marriage, come November.
|