JoeMyGod has assembled a nice series of responses from LGBT activists over the death of Senator Kennedy. Many are revealing, but I found this response from Michelangelo Signorile particularly apt:

"He battled the right-wing vigorously during the 80s in trying to get funding for AIDS/HIV research and basic care, in the face of a negligent government in the grip of religious extremists. He championed LGBT civil rights early on, and whether it was hate crimes laws or marriage, he was always out front in the Senate and in political life, showing leadership and bringing others along. I'm enormously grateful to him for helping to bring our issues into the mainstream and taking the ridicule and attacks from the far right over the years -- almost daily, from hate radio to the Internet -- because he took a courageous stand. Thank you, Senator."

Indeed. Thank you, Senator Kennedy, for all your hard work over the years. He worked tirelessly on so many progressive issues, it's hard to pin down a specific legacy. You can read the rest over at JMG.