Date: Tue, 26 Jul 1994 14:24:43 -0500 (CDT) From: Jonathan Beasley Murray <jbmurray-AT-alpha1.csd.uwm.edu> Subject: Re: Michael Current (fwd) I would only add the following: Michael, though he only posted to the marxism list a couple of times, was a vital presence on many net discussion groups, consistently providing thoughtful comments and helpful information, both in public and private. He was increasingly associated with the deleuze list, and came first to moderate then to own it. It was clearly apparent that he was a first rate authority on and interpreter of Deleuze and Guattari (among other contemporary theorists). He was intrumental in founding the "spoon" collective, which supervises this marxism list, and which is dedicated to greater freedom of discussion on the internet. At spoon, as on the deleuze list, his tireless organizing behind the scenes was as notable as his public interventions. He is missed in ways that are difficult to explain. Jon Beasley-Murray Department of English and Comp. Lit. U. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee jbmurray-AT-alpha1.csd.uwm.edu ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 24 Jul 1994 15:49:38 -0500 (CDT) From:S1MBM-AT-ISUVAX.IASTATE.EDU Subject: Re: Michael Current The following obituary appeared in the Saturday, July 23 edition of the Des Moines Register. I have not received permission to reprint this, but accept full legal responsibilities for any legal problems that might arise from the distribution of this document: Gay-rights advocate Current dies by Christopher Rickett, Register Staff Writer Michael Current, regarded as one of Iowa's premiere gay-rights advocates, died at his Des Moines home at 737 18th St. Thursday of complications from diabetes. He was 31. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Weert's Funeral Home in Davenport [IA]. Mr. Current, who served as executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Resource Center in Des Moines in 1993, was best known for his legislative lobbying work for extending civil-rights laws to protect people on the basis of sexual orientation. He founded the now-defunct lobbying group Iowa dignity and Equality Advocates. A gay-rights measure passed the House and failed in the Senate in 1989 and then did the exact opposite in 1992. Despite the bill's failure, Mr. Current's friends said they'll remember him for his tireless efforts in pursuit of equality for homosexuals. "When I think of Michael, I will think of all the times he was pretty much alone fighting at the Capitol for equality for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and anyone HIV positive, said Carrie Fitzgerald, one of Mr. Current's close friends. He didn't seem to be afraid. He really believed in what he was fighting for." Beth Barnhill, who was one the Resource Center's board of directors when Mr. Current was executive director, said he lobbied for equal rights, despite intimidation. "I know at times he was receiving death threats on the phone," Barnhill said. "Some at the Statehouse tried to intimidate him. But he kept working because he believed what he was doing." Mr. Current was born in Davenport and went to college in Massachusetts, where he was a staffer on one of Sen. Edward Kennedy's campaigns. In 1989, he moved to Des Moines, where he became a lobbyist in the state legislature. Visitation will be form 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Friends said they also were organizing a memorial service in Des Moines next week, though details hadn't been set. Mr. Current is survived by his mother, Garnet Current-Smith of Davenport; two sisters, Garnet Cannon of Davenport and Vickie Lavoie of Quebec, Canada; two brothers, Lindsey of Davenport and Gary of Sunset, Texas; and his grandfather, Samuel Bond of Davenport. His longtime companion was Marshall Metzer of Des Moines. ----------- Yours in mourning, Michael McDonald ------------------
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