Six-term U.S senator of Arizona John McCain, has died at the age of 81 at his ranch. A large motorcade for the Hearse escorted the late senator  to the mortuary.

McCain was suffering from aggressive glioblastoma, a serious form of brain cancer. He had been fighting it for more than a year. Last year he had surgery for a blood clot in his brain in July 2017. Following the surgery with follow ups with his doctors, he was told the grim news.

The McCain family announced yesterday on August 24 that while John had “surpassed expectations” for survival, he decided to discontinue brain cancer treatment.

“The progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict,” wrote the McCain family.

John McCain Motorcade-Hearse

McCain who took a minute to come around to supporting LGBTQ rights, he finally started showing signs of growth in the late years of his career as U.S Senator. For example John McCain opposed an amendment to a defense spending bill which if inserted and passed, would have undermined President Obama’s executive order banning anti-LGBTQ discrimination by federal contractors. Yes the same policy that the Trump administration has now eliminated.

McCain also showed his support and lobbied to get confirmed Eric Fanning, the first ever openly Gay secretary of the Army who was nominated by President. He also opposed a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, saying on the Senate Floor that the matter should be left to the states.

For his last stance to fight LGBTQ discrimination, John McCain stood up against Donald Trump’s efforts to ban transgender people from serving in the military by claiming they were a burden on the military budget.

McCain told the press back in September 2017….“Any member of the military who meets the medical and readiness standards should be allowed to serve — including those who are transgender,” said McCain. And to back up his words with action, he signed on to a bipartisan bill that would stop the Transgender ban. As of this date, the Transgender Ban has not passed nor do we see it passing any time soon. The federal courts currently have a blocked on the ban while lawsuits against across the country are going through the court system.

He also made history for all Americans when he returned to Congress after his July 2017 surgery. There he made the historic vote that blocked the end of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obama Care. The signature achievements of Obama’s presidency.

Following the historic vote, his condition worsened. During the fall of 2017 you could see him being courted around in a wheel chair with his cane and famous smile. He took leave from Congress in December which turned out to be the last he would be in the nation’s capital.

Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer

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