Peake and Sciortino: Coakley is True Friend to the GLBT Community

I’ve seen Martha Coakley speak twice.  Both times, she energeticly asserted that if she were a senator, she’d fight to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.  I haven’t been following Coakley’s career closely, but apparently, she’s no newcomer to the equality fight.  In Bay Windows today, state Representatives Sarah Peake and Carl Sciortino endore Coakley and explain:

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.

… 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…. Martha Coakley showed political courage, did what was right, and continues to be a key ally for this critical civil rights bill.

…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…