Family Rights Activist Launches College Speaking Tour

Charlene Strong, whose fight to be with her dying partner became a flashpoint in the struggle for same-sex couples' rights, is embarking this month on a speaking tour of colleges in the Midwest and the East Coast.

Strong's story was the subject of the documentary film For My Wife..., released in 2008. In 2006, Strong's partner of 10 years, noted audio book narrator and editor Kate Fleming, died after being caught in a flash flood in the basement of their Seattle home. When Fleming was taken to a hospital, where personnel attempted to revive her, Strong was initially denied access to her and had to contact Fleming's sister to gain the hospital's permission to be by her partner's side.

The tragedy led Strong to become an activist for legal recognition of same-sex relationships. The following year, Strong testified before the Washington State legislature in favor of a domestic-partnership bill; the legislation passed that year, and the law was strengthened in 2009. Strong was appointed a state human rights commissioner in 2007.

On her speaking tour, Strong's topics will include hospitalization and end-of-life decision rights, marriage equality, coming out, the Defense of Marriage Act, and the many inequalities faced by LGBT people.

"I am deeply honored and thrilled to be sharing my unflappable belief in never giving up," Strong said in a press release. "I did not become an advocate for any other desire than my belief in being a voice of reason, compassion, and understanding."

The tour will begin September 28 in Easton, Mass., at Stonehill College. For more information go to CharleneStrong.com.