Kitty Lambert

Kitty Lambert is an LGBT rights activist. She was raised Mormon and married a male Mormon missionary when she was seventeen.[1]  She did not come out as a lesbian for many years out of fear of losing her children.[1]

Lambert is president of (and was involved in the founding of) OUTspoken for Equality, an LGBT rights nonprofit in the Western New York area, and as such was instrumental in convincing the New York state legislature to legalize same-sex marriage.[2][3][4][5]

In 2010 Lambert and her partner Cheryle Rudd went to a marriage office in Buffalo, New York to apply for a marriage license, accompanied by a group of supporters.[6]  They were refused, but Lambert was given a license to marry a 22-year-old man at the marriage office whom she had never met before.[6] She did not marry him, but the incident was filmed and put on YouTube, where as of July 2011 it had been viewed by 125,000 people.[6][7]

Over the years, Lambert had three heart attacks, and Rudd had cervical and thyroid cancer.[5]  They had difficulty with hospitals due to lack of legal recognition of their relationship.[5]

In 2011 Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in New York.[2][8]  She and Rudd had been together for twelve years prior to their marriage.[5]  Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster officiated.[2]

References
  1. Steven Thrasher (22 July 2011). "Kitty Lambert Chats About Marrying Cheryle Rudd in First Legal New York Same-Sex Wedding". Village Voice, LLC. Archived from the original on 18 September 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  2. Lynn Curwin (24 July 2011). "Two grandmothers wed in New York's first legal gay marriage". digitaljournal.com. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  3. "SDWNY VP Kitty Lambert and partner may be first legal NYS marriage". Stonewall Democrats of Western New York. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  4. Jeffrey Hartinger (5 August 2011). "These Buffalo Gals Got Married By the Light of the Moon". Advocate.com. Here Media Inc. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  5. Kevin J. Bargnes; Joseph Popiolkowski (23 July 2011). "Couple ushers in new era". City & Region. The Buffalo News. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  6. Hugo Salinas (24 July 2011). "Trailblazing Equality on Pioneer Day: Kitty Lambert". Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  7. "Kitty Lambert's Marriage License To A Stranger- Full Protest For Same Gender Marriage". YouTube. 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  8. THOMAS KAPLAN (23 July 2011). "After Long Wait, Gay Couples Marry in New York". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
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