Gorak Welcomes

SAN FRANCISCO - Pioneering lesbian rights activist Del Martin, who married her lifelong partner in June on the first day that same-sex couples here gained that right, has died. She was 87.

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said Martin died at a San Francisco hospital Wednesday morning, two weeks after a broken arm exacerbated her existing health problems.

Her wife, Phyllis Lyon, was by her side, Kendell said.

It's a nice thing that her life came to a close with her relationship validated by the larger society around her.

Her life would not have meant any less had she not had the opportunity, but it's a reminder that now.. every young gay man and woman in California knows that they have the same opportunities as every other citizen of the state now.

I'm 42 today.. (happy birthday to me!!).. and when I was 21 years old and entered into my first relationship, the idea was unthinkable to all of us. Simply being gay was something that most of us were conditioned to hide... even in 1987.

It's also a reminder of all the people who died never having got that chance.