Joe Tom Easley, a prominent gay rights activist and lawyer, died Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022 at a hospital in Miami Beach from complications of lung disease. He was 81.
Easley was involved in the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that discriminated against LGBTQ+ people in the military. His 2003 wedding to his husband Peter Freiberg was also one of the first same-sex marriages featured in the New York Times.
When he lived in New York, Easley served as co-chair of Lambda Legal from 1983 to 1987, then served as president of the Human Rights Campaign until 1995