Gays against land mines.

Alison Dock had been an activist for gay and AIDS causes in Chicago for many years. But when the out lesbian wrote about land mines for a college research paper, the health care professional said she "found her purpose." In 2003 she attended World Refugee Day in Washington, D.C., with her longtime friend Jose de Arteaga, a gay man and fellow labor services and social justice professional. The two founded Landmines Blow! which is a global awareness and victim advocacy group that recently began lobbying the U.S. government to stop planned production of a new generation of land mines.

"Land mines are indiscriminate weapons," Dock said, noting that there are approximately 80 million unexploded land mines and other live weapons in about 80 countries worldwide. "They do not distinguish between the footsteps of a soldier and those of a child."

Bock added that her group has a big gay following. "In our first year we were entirely sustained by T-shirt sales and donations from the gay community," she said. "Many people have communicated to us that they are glad to see positive examples of gay individuals working together to make the world a better place."