The DNC and gay rights 40 years later
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By Steve Kastenbaum, CNN
Charlotte, North Carolina (CNN) – It began 40 years ago with one delegate from Buffalo. Now, at the Democratic National Convention this week, the call for a federal law recognizing same-sex marriages will become part of the party's official platform.
Madeline Davis was one of only two openly gay delegates at the 1972 Democratic Convention in Miami Beach. In a ground breaking moment, she identified herself at the podium as a lesbian and asked her fellow delegates to adopt language calling for equal rights for homosexuals.
[2:29] “We’ve done so much since that. We’ve done so much picketing and so much convincing and had so many meetings and… it’s just a lifetime of work and for some reason my major feeling about this is I’m really tired. I’m really tired.”
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