Gov. Dreyfus Gay Rights Pioneer Dies

First governor to sign gay rights law dies

Source:gay.com published Friday, January 4, 2008

Former Wisconsin Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus, who in 1982 signed the first statewide gay rights law in the United States, has died. He was 81.

Dreyfus died Wednesday at his home near Milwaukee, said Lee S. Dreyfus Jr. on Thursday. He had suffered from heart and breathing problems.

The gay rights measure Dreyfus signed made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, employment, and public accommodations. Activists gathered in Madison last year to mark the 25th anniversary of the law.

Dreyfus, a Republican who Wisconsin's 40th governor, was also a vocal opponent of the state's ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions, which was approved by voters in 2006. MORE AT HEADER