Day Three: Democratic National Convention in Denver
By Lisa Mottet, Transgender Civil Rights Project Director, August 28, 9:59 am
We started this day on a somber note, as we learned the sad news that Del Martin passed away.
We issued a statement and Sen. Obama released a statement as well:
“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.”
Several speakers at today’s LGBT caucus talked about how Del had devoted her life for LGBT equality. Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, spoke eloquently of her work, and how we must continue all of our work for equality. He spoke about the importance of the movement's work in California to defeat Proposition 8 that would ban same-sex marriage there. As I write this in Denver, I know that we have several staff members in California working hard, running the field effort for the No on 8 campaign.
The LGBT caucus meeting included a short phone bank to voters in Ohio, which was well-executed, and ended with the presentation of the Jane Fee award, given in the name of the first transgender delegate to the Convention many years ago. Rick Stafford, the current chair of the caucus, received the award for his work to ensure a trans-inclusive party platform.
In the convention tonight, the energy continued to build. President Bill Clinton delivered an address in support of the Obama/Biden ticket that was universally viewed as inspiring, and Joe Biden accepted the vice-presidential nomination. After Biden's speech, he was joined on the stage with his wife Jill, then in a surprise, Obama came out to say hello and praise Biden for his words. The scene ended with the rest of Biden's family members joined them on stage.
Want to share your thoughts about Lisa's blog entry?
Send your comments to OutSpoken@theTaskForce.org.
Please let us know how your name should appear and, optionally, your city and state. Comments may be posted on our Web site and used in other Task Force materials.
