“By being honest about who we are, we have freed most Americans from the misperception that they were supposed to be homophobic,” U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said last week.

That day, Aug. 27, we learned of the death of Del Martin, a pioneer in the GLBT civil rights movement who did so much to free so many Americans “from the misperception that they were supposed to be homophobic.”

Martin, 87, was an activist, one of the earliest in the modern GLBT movement, and as such she did much to show people the truth, the way, the right from wrong on gay and lesbian issues.

She also did much to show people the truth, the way, the right from wrong on gay and lesbian issues by being a committed, loving, devoted partner and eventually, after way too many years of struggle, as a bride.

Martin and Phyllis Lyon, partners of more than five decades, married on June 16, after the California Supreme Court ruled that marriage is a fundamental right that cannot be denied same-sex couples. They had met in 1950, became committed partners in 1953, and together, in 1955, purchased the San Francisco home they would share for the next 53 years.

The couple “defined, from my perspective, what marriage was supposed to be about,” San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said the day Martin died.

From my perspective, too.

I remember early in my own romance — now approaching a 16th anniversary — writing about my partner and I following in the tradition of Martin and Lyon, our names forever linked, not two but one.

Martin’s death brought condolences from Barack and Michelle Obama to “her spouse Phyllis Lyon, and all those who were touched by her life.”

Her passing also brought calls to action from activists facing another round of ballot initiatives intended to corrupt state constitutions with prohibitions against our marrying and the recognition of our unions.

The right for which Martin, alongside Lyon, fought for so long faces a threat in California Proposition 8, a Nov. 4 ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution to read, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

Floridians also will vote in November on a proposed constitutional amendment — the Florida Marriage Amendment — that would ban recognition of unions outside the marriage of a man and a woman. The amendment would read, “Inasmuch as a marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.”

In Arizona, where voters defeated an anti-gay marriage measure in 2006, Proposition 102 would amend the constitution to state, “Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.”

GLBT activists have long looked to Martin and Lyon as leaders and examples, asking what would Del and Phyllis do?

Now, inheritors of Martin’s legacy, beneficiaries of Martin’s fight, say, Do it for Del.

Don’t get so wrapped up in this year’s partisan campaign for the White House that you neglect the peoples’ battles in the states.

Do, for Del, engage in the campaign for “no” votes if you live in one of the states facing an anti-gay initiative.

And do, for Del, support those vote “no” campaigns financially if you live in a state safe from an initiative this election season.

Do listen to Barney Frank and be honest, inform the American electorate that they are not supposed to be homophobic.

And do heed Del Martin’s own call to action, written so many years ago: “Nothing was ever accomplished by hiding in a dark corner. Why not discard the hermitage for the heritage that awaits…”

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Last week, the National Center for Lesbian Rights announced that gifts in lieu of flowers can be made to honor Martin’s life and commitment to the No on 8 PAC at www.nclrights.org/noon8.