[wik]

In the fifties, a time when women were told--and many believed--the most they could aspire to was an all-electric kitchen in which to serve their husbands and families, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon had the guts to say there had to be more choices. They fought for lesbian liberation and they fought against the oppression of women--even when it was promulgated by their brethren in the gay liberation movement in the early 1970s. They fought not just for lesbians, but for the right of all women to dream and to achieve aspirations greater than the household servitude expected of them in the '50s and '60s.

While Martin chose the battles against the oppression of women and for lesbian liberation as her life's mission, the courage that led her and Lyon to fight for same-sex marriage in California is part of the reason I could marry my partner last Sunday.

On August 27, 2008, Del Martin died a hero.

[JayJay]

Senator Barack Obama, when told of Del Martin's death, issued this personal statement: “Michelle and I were deeply saddened to hear that Del Martin had passed. 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.”
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Jay