Lesbian
rights pioneers Del Martin (C) and Phyllis Lyon (2ndR) cut their wedding cake
after getting married at city hall in San Francisco, CA, on June 16, 2008. Lyon
passed away on Thursday, April 9, 2020
Activist Phyllis Lyon, who spent
more than 50 years fighting for LGBTQ rights, died of natural causes. She was
95. California Gov. Gavin Newsom shared the news of Lyon's death
in a post on Twitter on Thursday, calling her a "dear friend."
When Newsom served as mayor of San Francisco, he officiated
the wedding between Lyon and her late partner Del Martin in 2008.
In 2004, San Francisco officials allowed gay couples in the
city to wed, prompting a flood of applicants to the City Hall clerk's office.
The officials chose Lyon, then 80, and Martin, then 83, to take the first vows.
Those unions were voided by California's Supreme Court,
until 2008 when it struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The ruling
paved the way for same-sex couples to marry in the state -- and Lyon and Martin
chose to get remarried.
"Phyllis—it was the honor of a lifetime to marry you
& Del," Newsom wrote in the tweet, which was accompanied by a video of
the two of them. "Your courage changed the course of history."
Phyllis and Del
were the manifestation of love and devotion. Yet for over 50 years they were
denied the right to say 2 extraordinary words: I do.
Phyllis—it was the honor of a lifetime to marry you & Del. Your courage
changed the course of history.
Lyon and Martin, who passed away in 2008, first met back in
1950. Together, they were pioneers in fighting for same-sex marriage in
California.
The couple founded the Daughters of Bilitis -- the first
lesbian rights organization in the US -- in 1955. Both are considered champions of the LGBTQ rights movement.
Lyon died of natural causes, California State Sen. Scott
Weiner, who is chairman of the LGBTQ caucus.
"We lost a giant today," Weiner wrote.
"Phyllis Lyon fought for #LGBT equality when it was neither safe nor
popular to do so. Phyllis & her wife Del played a crucial role winning the
rights & dignity our community now enjoys. We owe Phyllis intense gratitude
& love for her work.
Kate Kendall, former executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said she will miss Lyon.
"She and Del are dancing again," she wrote on Twitter. "I will miss her so much."
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