nytimes June 19, 2021 12:00am Madeline Davis, Who Spoke to the Nation as a Lesbian, Dies at 80 #davismadelined #deathsobituaries #homosexualityandbisexuality #democraticnationalconvention #unitedstatespoliticsandgovernment #samesexmarriagecivilunionsanddomesticpartnerships #news Madeline Davis, Who Spoke to the Nation as a Lesbian, Dies at 80 She was the first openly gay woman to speak to a major party’s national convention, asking Democrats in 1972 to include an anti-discrimination plank in their platform.