[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 157 (Monday, September 29, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E2153]]


                          HONORING DEL MARTIN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 29, 2008

  Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, on behalf of my colleagues in Congress, 
and with great personal sadness, I rise to pay tribute to a highly 
esteemed and loved community leader who died on August 27th. Del Martin 
was a remarkable woman, an eloquent organizer for civil rights and 
human dignity. Del helped create and shape the modem lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, and transgender and feminist movements. She was endowed with 
extraordinary courage, persistence, intelligence, humor, and grace. She 
refused to be silenced by fear and never stopped fighting for equality.
  Del Martin and her beloved partner, in work as in life, of 50 years, 
Phyllis Lyon were married at San Francisco City Hall on June 16, 2008. 
They were the first same-sex couple to wed in San Francisco after the 
California Superior Court's landmark decision to affirm marriage 
equality. This was Del Martin's, last public political act, and we 
would not have won marriage equality in California without their 
leadership and example.
  I have proudly talked about Del and Phyllis on two occasions on this 
House floor--first in 1996 as I spoke in strong opposition to the ill-
named Defense of Marriage Act, then 10 years later against the 
constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage. I told my 
colleagues about their love, happiness and commitment to each other 
which continue to be a source of strength and inspiration to all who 
know them. I asked my colleagues to explain how their relationship was 
a threat to anyone's marriage and why Del and Phyllis should not be 
treated equally under the law. I am grateful that they allowed me to 
share their personal history to show that these malicious and 
discriminatory measures were counter to the ideals of liberty, freedom, 
and equality for which this Nation stands.
  Del and Phyllis were pioneering activists for lesbian and gay rights 
and women's rights. They fought and triumphed in many battles and made 
history for the LGBT community in our city, our State and our Nation. 
In the 1950s, they cofounded the first national lesbian rights 
organization in the United States, the ``Daughters of Bilitis,'' long 
before the gay rights movement took hold. They published a monthly 
newsletter, The Ladder, and the book Lesbian/Woman which generated new 
media visibility and political engagement for the nascent gay rights 
movement. They co-founded the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, the 
first gay political club in the United States.
  Del Martin's publication of Battered Wives in 1976 was a watershed 
moment in the movement against domestic violence. She co-founded the 
Coalition for Justice for Battered Women, La Casa de las Madres, and 
the California Coalition against Domestic Violence. Lyon-Martin Health 
Services, the San Francisco clinic named for Del and Phyllis that 
provides quality health care to women and transgender people, will 
stand as a testament to their generous spirit and pioneering 
commitment.
  In 1995 Senator Dianne Feinstein and I named Del and Phyllis to the 
White House Conference on Aging where they advocated for LGBT people to 
be included explicitly in aging policies.
  I hope it is a comfort to Phyllis, their daughter Kendra Mon, and 
their grandchildren and vast extended family of friends that so many 
people mourn her loss and will hold Del in their hearts forever.

                          ____________________