In announcing their endorsement, MassEquality cited Coakley’s long-time record of proven leadership on behalf of the LGBT community in Massachusetts, a record that demonstrates her willingness to go beyond the call of duty to fight for equality.
“If the disheartening repeal of marriage equality in Maine earlier this month taught us anything, it’s that now more than ever our community needs more than just allies,” MassEquality Executive Director Scott Gortikov said. “We need strong leaders who will follow in the footsteps of Senator Kennedy and not rest until we have achieved full equality.”
http://www.marthacoakley.com/n…
“Martha Coakley has been a tireless advocate for LGBT equality throughout her entire career, fighting for everything from marriage equality to transgender non-discrimination to prosecution of hate crimes,” Gortikov said. “She was also one of the first state-wide elected officials to publicly support the transgender non-discrimination bill, MassEquality’s top legislative priority. In addition, her recent lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) clearly proves that she is not afraid to take a lead role on issues of importance to the LGBT community, no matter how controversial they may be.”
In July, Attorney General Coakley filed a lawsuit against the federal government seeking to strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. She did so saying that “the time has come for this injustice to end,” that DOMA was a discriminatory and unconstitutional and that she was seeking to “remedy the fundamental unfairness that DOMA causes to Massachusetts and its residents by denying those residents equal treatment under the law.”
Gortikov also highlighted Coakley’s support of the MassHealth Equality bill, which ensured that Massachusetts cover the cost of health care for qualifying low-income and elderly same-sex couples who would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid; her work to obtain civil rights injunctions in numerous cases involving hate crimes against members of the LGBT community; her longtime support for efforts to address domestic violence in the LGBT community; and the fact that as Attorney General, Coakley’s office has conducted trainings for police departments around the Commonwealth on how better to respond to hate crimes and assist LGBT victims who are especially vulnerable.
MassEquality had a great database of politically active glbt people and allies across the state. I got the email blast, but hadn’t gotten around to posting it here myself.