Gay rights - some people oppose them, others support them. John Kerry, D-Mass, supports them, according to his presidential Web site.
"John Kerry believes that same-sex couples should be granted rights,"" according to the Web site. "Including access to pensions, health insurance, family medical leave, bereavement leave, hospital visitation, survivor benefits and other basic legal protections that all families and children need."" .
Kerry, the son of former DC-3 pilot Richard Kerry, was born in Denver, Colo., on Dec. 11, 1943, at a military hospital, where his father was recovering from tuberculosis. .
He went on to graduate from Yale University, and upon graduation joined the Navy, where he served as a Swift Boat officer in Vietnam. He returned home with many medals including, the Purple Heart and both the Bronze and Silver Stars. .
He served as the district attorney for Middlesex County, where he put away the number two mob boss in New England. .
Kerry changed the way the law was implemented in Middlesex County, according to his Web site.
"He modernized the district attorney's office, creating an innovative rape crisis crime unit, and as a lawyer in private practice,"" according the Web site. "He worked long and hard to prove the innocence of a man wrongly given a life sentence for a murder he did not commit."" .
Kerry would go on to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1982 to 1984, after which he was elected to the Senate where he is currently serving. .
Kerry is the father of two daughters and three sons and married to Teresa Heinz Kerry. .
Kerry has long been a supporter gay rights, having served with several gay people in Vietnam. Although most of them were not open about it until after the fighting, he expressed great pride and honor toward the men with which he fought and also with the men who defended us on Sept. 11, 2003, according to his statement in Human Rights Quarterly.
