In what many will consider the end of a dynasty, the last of three brothers, Senator Edward Kennedy, brother to President John. F. Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy, both gunned down early in life, has passed away from brain cancer at the age of 72.

“Edward M. Kennedy, the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply, died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port (Massachusetts),” the Kennedy family said in a statement.

One of the most influential and longest-serving senators in U.S. history — a liberal standard-bearer who was also known as a consummate congressional dealmaker — Kennedy had been battling brain cancer, which was diagnosed in May 2008.

“We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever,” the family statement added.

From CNN…

In the clip below, Teddy Kennedy gives a moving eulogy for his brother Robert. If there is a hearafter, I hope he is now at peace, and is rejoined with those he had lost. RIP Teddy…

Senators from both sides of the aisle have introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) which would end discrimination based on the sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) are lead sponsors on the bill. HRC president Joe Solmonese made the following statement:

“The introduction of an inclusive employment non-discrimination bill in the U.S. Senate is an important and historic step in ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. No American, and that includes LGBT Americans, should have to worry about their livelihood being taken away from them simply for being who they are. The overwhelming majority of the American people are in favor of this legislation and now is the time for our community to visit their representatives in Congress to let them know we need this passed into law.”

Senators Merkley and Kennedy also weighed in:

Sen. Merkley: “There is no place in the workplace for employment discrimination. No worker in America should be fired or denied a job based on who they are.  Discrimination is wrong, period.  I’m proud to join Senator Kennedy, who is a civil rights legend, and Senators Collins and Snowe, both champions for equality, in taking this next step in our ongoing effort to create a more perfect union and guarantee every American, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, the right to earn a living.”

Sen. Kennedy: “The promise of America will never be fulfilled as long as justice is denied to even one among us. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act brings us closer to fulfilling that promise for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender citizens.  I’m proud to join Senators Merkley and Collins in introducing this important legislation.”

The Senate version of ENDA joins the House version which was introduced last June, and comes on the eve of the August recess. Be sure to contact your senator or congressman over the break and urge them to support ENDA.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has withdrawn a proposed amendment that would have placed an 18-month moratorium on discharges under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. She simply didn’t have enough votes.

Matt Canter, a Gillibrand spokesperson, told the Blade on Wednesday that the senator determined there weren’t 60 votes available for a vote of cloture on the amendment.

“She was working for about a week to assess support among her colleagues for the measure,” he said. “It does not appear that we’re going to have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. So she’s not going to pursue the moratorium amendment at this time.”

Canter said Gillibrand is working with senators “to continue to highlight the issue and move forward on the issue.”

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) is slated to introduce a bill for full repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the Senate. In the House, Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) took over as lead sponsor of repeal legislation earlier this month.

Canter said Gillibrand will continue to back Kennedy and Murphy’s efforts to build support for repeal legislation.

While unfortunate, the withdrawal is not completely surprising. The proposed amendment was last minute, and comes at a time when the Senate has been focused on healthcare reform, the DoD authorization bill, and mermaids. Seriously, it had better not been the last one.

Just as we lacked a strong political voice in the vein of Harvey Milk during the battle to defeat Prop 8, we also lack a voice on the national level to make the moral case for advancing LGBT civil rights. New York Times columnist Frank Rich holds Democrats feet to the fire for not having the courage to drive that message home:

… The Democrats do have the votes to advance the gay civil rights legislation Obama has promised to sign. And they have a serious responsibility to do so. Let’s not forget that “don’t ask” and DOMA both happened on Bill Clinton’s watch and with his approval. Indeed, in the 2008 campaign, Obama’s promise to repeal DOMA outright was a position meant to outflank Hillary Clinton, who favored only a partial revision.

So what’s stopping the Democrats from rectifying that legacy now? As Wolfson said to me last week, they lack “a towering national figure to make the moral case” for full gay civil rights. There’s no one of that stature in Congress now that Ted Kennedy has been sidelined by illness, and the president shows no signs so far of following the example of L.B.J., who championed black civil rights even though he knew it would cost his own party the South. When Obama invoked same-sex marriage in an innocuous joke at the White House correspondents’ dinner two weeks ago — he and his political partner, David Axelrod, went to Iowa to “make it official” — it seemed all the odder that he hasn’t engaged the issue substantively.

…

As [Evan] Wolfson reminds us in his book “Why Marriage Matters,” Dr. King addressed such dawdling in 1963. “For years now I have heard the word ‘Wait,’ ” King wrote. “It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’ ”

There is a possibility the White House will find its “voice” on many issues (hopefully DADT in particular) this June which is Pride month. California representative Howard Berman predicted in an interview last week that the White House would be making an announcement on a number of LGBT issues, though declined to give specifics.