Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues
Kennedy was considered to be one of the biggest advocates of LGBT rights in the U.S. Senate, and he has received ratings of 100 percent by the Human Rights Campaign for the 107th, 108th and 109th sessions of U.S. Congress indicating that he voted in support of issues the HRC considers important with regards to equality for LGBT persons. He was a supporter of same-sex marriage and was one of the fourteen senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He also voted against the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006. Kennedy's home state of Massachusetts is one of 11 states, the other ten being Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Maryland, Washington, Rhode Island, Delaware and Minnesota to date to have legalized same-sex marriage.
Read more about this topic: Political Positions Of Ted Kennedy
Famous quotes containing the word issues:
“How to attain sufficient clarity of thought to meet the terrifying issues now facing us, before it is too late, is ... important. Of one thing I feel reasonably sure: we cant stop to discuss whether the table has or hasnt legs when the house is burning down over our heads. Nor do the classics per se seem to furnish the kind of education which fits people to cope with a fast-changing civilization.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877?)