[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 86 (Friday, June 24, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S7377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                         HONORING JEAN O'LEARY

 Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor an 
outstanding American whose tireless work helped bring to national 
attention the matter of gay civil rights. Jean O'Leary represented the 
ideals of a truly integrated society, a Nation that saw equality for 
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people of this world. On June 
4, 2005, my dear friend, Jean O'Leary died at the age of 57, in her 
home in San Clemente, CA. Her passing is a great loss to her family and 
she will be missed by all who knew her. I offer my deepest condolences 
to her family and am joined by the thousands of Californians, as well 
as those throughout the country, who have benefited from her work to 
end the injustices that segregate this great Nation. Jean O'Leary's was 
a light, a remarkable voice in an area that needed a champion. Her 
legacy will live on through the passion and energy she gave to the gay 
rights movement.
  Jean Marie O'Leary lived a life of extraordinary accomplishments. 
Born in Kingston, NY, but raised mostly in Ohio, Ms. O'Leary attended 
parochial schools from third grade through high school and in 1966 
joined the Sisters of the Holy Humility of Mary to become a nun. Many 
were surprised by her decision which contradicted her independent and 
rebellious nature. Years later she revealed that she wanted to become a 
nun because she ``wanted to do something special, to have an impact on 
the world.''
  Jean O'Leary left the covenant in 1971, returning to New York where 
she immersed herself in the gay rights movement. She was a member of 
the Gay Activists Alliance, founder of the Lesbian Feminist Liberation, 
co-executive director of the National Gay Task Force, and head of the 
National Gay Rights Advocates where she helped bring visibility to the 
movement.
  In 1977, Ms. O'Leary through her close friendship with Midge 
Costanza, an advisor to President Jimmy Carter, organized the first-
ever meeting of gay rights advocates in the White House. This historic 
gathering of gay and lesbian leaders spurred a national discussion to 
review and begin to correct the antigay policies by Federal Government 
agencies. President Carter later appointed her to the National 
Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year where she 
negotiated the inclusion of gay and lesbian rights on the commission's 
conference held in Houston. In her work as a Democratic Party activist, 
O'Leary was a pillar of strength and support that helped advance the 
rights of gay men and lesbians, women and people living with HIV and 
AIDS.
  Truly, she lived up to her dreams to shape the world. In a career 
that spanned 35 years, I remember Ms. O'Leary as an exception activist, 
a woman with a soft-spoken, charming, and compassionate nature that 
shown through in her tremendous ability to pioneer an issue that 
involves millions worldwide.
  Jean O'Leary was an exemplary American who worked to improve the life 
of all persons in the Nation. She was an outstanding individual, a 
close and trusted friend, and an inspiration to this Nation. We will 
all miss her spirit and passion, and our thoughts go out to her family 
and friends.

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