Stockwell: Thank You, Mary Travers

Gay rights activist and former Advocate editor in chief Anne Stockwell penned a moving tribute to Mary Travers of Peter, Paul & Mary, who died Wednesday of complications from Leukemia.

Stockwell remembers loving Mary's music as a child, but it wasn't until her time at The Advocate, as she reached out to music stars for statements expressing their feelings about Bush's endorsement of a Federal Marriage Amendment, that Peter, Paul & Mary became "our people."

"A day or two before we put the issue to bed, I got a call from a publicist I didn't know. She was reaching out on behalf of Peter, Paul & Mary. They'd heard that I was publishing statements about marriage equality. Could I make room to include them?

"I realized then that my child's instincts had been right. Peter, Paul & Mary were my people. Here's the statement they sent me at The Advocate: 'Having sung, demonstrated, and participated as activists for the human rights, civil rights, and dignity of all people, we are totally opposed to the Bush administration's proposed constitutional amendment. Let us rather find ways to embrace one another, all different, all special, and all deserving of being accepted as such -- without bias, without prejudice, and, most critically, without the deprivation of our rights to full and equal participation in our society.'"

Read the full tribute here.