Opinion :: Guest Opinions
Martha Coakley the right woman for the job by Rep. Carl Sciortino & Rep. Sarah Peake
Contributing WritersMonday Sep 21, 2009 Martha Coakley has been a true friend to the GLBT community, and has shown true leadership in defending our rights. We are proud supporters of Martha Coakley, and want to share our reasons for why we have endorsed her for the U.S. Senate.
When it comes to defending the rights of same-sex couples, Martha Coakley has always been there for us. In 2007, when marriage was far from a done deal, she gave a speech to the Massachusetts Lesbian & Gay Bar Association strongly supporting equality. In her remarks, she said, "I think we can easily anticipate that if the proposed amendment was successful, there would be protracted, hard-fought litigation about the constitutionality of such a provision...If that battle is necessary, you have my support." She has gone above and beyond that promise, and this past July filed the first-of-its-kind lawsuit challenging the federal "Defense of Marriage Act" on behalf of the state of Massachusetts, and our right to define marriage on our own terms.
As we all know, same-sex marriage is only one of the many issues facing our community, and Martha Coakley recognizes our many challenges. When we filed state legislation for the civil rights of our transgender community members last term for the first time, we only garnered a couple dozen legislative allies. Yet Martha Coakley was an early champion of the bill, and was the first statewide elected official to offer her support. That meant a lot to us, and made a huge impact in boosting support for our efforts.
Not only has she offered her endorsement, but Martha Coakley has been a vocal and persistent supporter for the bill’s passage. While some GLB community members and historic allies urged caution and reservation about support for the transgender community, Martha Coakley showed political courage, did what was right, and continues to be a key ally for this critical civil rights bill.
Beyond transgender civil rights and marriage equality, Martha Coakley organized trainings for police and prosecutors on how to handle GLBT hate crimes, she supported the passage of the MassHealth Equality bill ensuring health care access for same-sex couples and families, and she has been working to address the issue of same-sex domestic violence with the sensitivity it deserves. We could go on and give many examples of Martha Coakley’s firm commitment to our community.
Senator Kennedy’s legacy was one of inclusion and courageous leadership. The GLBT community has lost a great leader with his passing. He has stood tall as one of only a few U.S. Senators to declare support for marriage equality, supported repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and just this year filed in the Senate for the first time ever an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act covering both sexual orientation and gender identity.
Our message is simple. Martha Coakley has always stood tall in showing political courage and leadership on behalf of the entire GLBT community. In trying to do the impossible and fill the late Senator Kennedy’s shoes, our community is looking for a champion of our causes. Martha Coakley is that champion, and we are proud to offer her our support.
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