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Gay and lesbian civil rights activist Del Martin died yesterday. 87-year-old Martin and her partner Phyllis Lyon were the first same-sex couple to be legally married in California earlier this year.

Wife Lyon told CNN yesterday “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.”

“I also never imagined there would be a day that we would actually be able to get married.”

“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.”

Lyon and Martin met in 1950, and have lived together since 1953.  In 1955, the couple founded the USA’s first lesbian organization, the Daughters of Bilitis, and the first lesbian publication, The Ladder.

In the 1960s, the couple fought for anti-discrimination bills in California and persuaded some police officers to stop harassing people at gay bars, as part of a group Martin co-founded called the Council on Religion and the Homosexual. Martin also fought to change the American Psychological Society stance that homosexuality was a mental illnesses.

Martin was also a founding member of several other organizations, including the Lesbian Mother’s Union, the San Francisco Women’s Centers and the Bay Area Women’s Coalition. She and Lyon were co-founders of the first gay political group in the United States, the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, named for author Gertrude Stein’s long-time partner.

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, called Martin “a real hero.”

“For all of Del’s life, she was an activist and organizer even before we knew what those terms meant,” Kendell 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.”

Posted in: Campaigns & Politics |