Kennedy Dies at 77

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the last surviving brother of the Kennedy political dynasty and one of the most influential Senators in U.S. history, died last night at his Cape Cod home.

Kennedy died after loosing his battle with brain cancer. Kennedy, the youngest of nine children was born in 1932. He was 77.

Since 1962, Ted Kennedy served as a U.S. Senator for almost 50 years. He served under 10 presidents, one being his own brother, John Fitzgerald Kennedy who was assassinated in 1963.

Ted is the only one of the four Kennedy brothers who died of natural causes.
Kennedy’s eldest brother, Joseph, was killed in a plane crash in World War II. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Los Angeles while he was campaigning for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination.

During his years in the Senate, Ted Kennedy proved to be a champion for middle-class America by compiling an impressive list of legislative achievements including health care, civil rights, education, and immigration.
His legislative legacy includes bills which provided health insurance for children of the working poor, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, Meals on Wheels for the elderly, abortion clinic access, family leave, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA.

On foreign issues, he was knows as a driving force for peace in Ireland, a huge advocate of ending apartheid in South Africa, and more recently, a constant critic of the war in Iraq.

Ted Kennedy was also well known for his stance on GLBT rights including co-sponsoring a 2007 legislative bill that would provide benefits to domestic partners of Federal employees.

His voting record also earned him a 100% rating by the Human Rights Campaign.

Here is a brief overview of his gay-rights voting record:

* Voted YES on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes.
* Voted YES on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation.
* Voted NO on prohibiting same-sex marriage.
* Voted YES on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation.

The death of Ted Kennedy not only marks the end of an era in U.S. History, but the end of family of lawmakers who stood up for civil rights for all.