Las Vegas NowMemorial Wed. for prison namesake Florence McClure
Associated Press - November 11, 2009 8:05 AM ET
LAS VEGAS (AP) - A memorial is Wednesday in Las Vegas for groundbreaking Nevada women's rights advocate and prison namesake Florence McClure.
The woman nicknamed "Hurricane Flo" for her activities in women's groups and her push to strengthen rape penalties died Nov. 5 at age 88.
McClure started what would become a regional rape crisis center out of her home in 1974, and began petitioning the Legislature in 1975 to make marital rape a crime.
Filmmaker Marlene Adrian produced a documentary, "Hurricane Florence." She says McClure was a forceful voice for sex assault victims, and would often accompany them to court.
McClure kept up the fight the 1990s, even for those held at Nevada's only women's prison.
The building now bears her name in North Las Vegas.
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