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I ran the following Op-Ed this past Friday morning. In the past two and a half days my e-mail has been buried from people wanting more information, or to express outrage, or just to express support and decency. This story was also run on Bil Browning's Bilerico Project where it generated massive comments. The story has now gone viral.
For persons who don't clearly have an idea of the reality of the impact that not having full equal rights truly is, may this story serve as an example and more-so, justification for Gay marriage rights.
[Links to the National Centre for Lesbian Rights,The Bilerico Project, & The Human Rights Campaign can be found by visiting my webpage]
Friday, April 16, 2010
Brody's Scribbles... Greene v. County of Sonoma et al: Appalling Outrage Against Simple Human Dignity
By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Apr 16 | Perhaps the greatest impact affecting LGBT persons when President Barack Obama ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to prohibit discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in hospital visitation, is that the new rule grants hospital visitation rights to same-sex partners, making it easier for LGBT people to make medical decisions on behalf of their partners. Sadly for some, it came too late as illustrated by this heart rendering legal action from the case files of the National Centre for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco, California.
Calla Rongerude, the Director of Communications of the National Centre for Lesbian Rights, released the details of the following case this morning along with a statement from its Executive Director commenting on the President's Executive order.
Clay and his partner of 20 years, Harold, lived in California. Clay and Harold made diligent efforts to protect their legal rights, and had their legal paperwork in place—wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives, all naming each other. Harold was 88 years old and in frail medical condition, but still living at home with Clay, 77, who was in good health.
One evening, Harold fell down the front steps of their home and was taken to the hospital. Based on their medical directives alone, Clay should have been consulted in Harold’s care from the first moment. Tragically, county and health care workers instead refused to allow Clay to see Harold in the hospital. The county then ultimately went one step further by isolating the couple from each other, placing the men in separate nursing homes.
Ignoring Clay’s significant role in Harold’s life, the county continued to treat Harold like he had no family and went to court seeking the power to make financial decisions on his behalf. Outrageously, the county represented to the judge that Clay was merely Harold’s “roommate.” The court denied their efforts, but did grant the county limited access to one of Harold’s bank accounts to pay for his care.
What happened next is even more chilling: without authority, without determining the value of Clay and Harold’s possessions accumulated over the course of their 20 years together or making any effort to determine which items belonged to whom, the county took everything Harold and Clay owned and auctioned off all of their belongings. Adding further insult to grave injury, the county removed Clay from his home and confined him to a nursing home against his will. The county workers then terminated Clay and Harold's lease and surrendered the home they had shared for many years to the landlord.
Three months after he was hospitalized, Harold died in the nursing home. Because of the county’s actions, Clay missed the final months he should have had with his partner of 20 years. Compounding this tragedy, Clay has literally nothing left of the home he had shared with Harold or the life he was living up until the day that Harold fell, because he has been unable to recover any of his property. The only memento Clay has is a photo album that Harold painstakingly put together for Clay during the last three months of his life.
With the help of a dedicated and persistent court-appointed attorney, Anne Dennis of Santa Rosa, Clay was finally released from the nursing home. Ms. Dennis, along with Stephen O'Neill and Margaret Flynn of Tarkington, O'Neill, Barrack & Chong, now represent Clay in a lawsuit against the county, the auction company, and the nursing home, with technical assistance from NCLR. A trial date has been set for July 16, 2010 in the Superior Court for the County of Sonoma.
A statement from Kate Kendell, Executive Director of the National Centre for Lesbian Rights:
"There is perhaps no more appalling and heartbreaking story we hear than when the partner of an LGBT person is barred from being at the side of their loved one in the midst of a tragedy or serious illness. In life’s most harrowing moments, loved ones are separated at the most critical time of need. Quite literally long-term partners have been sitting in excruciating fear and frustration in a waiting room while the love of their life dies alone in a hospital room. This action by the Obama administration will put an end to this inhumanity and assure that partners can be at the bedside of those they love."
Gay Senior Citizens Photo By Getty Images
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saben
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On fire! |
Registered: May 2003
Messages: 1537
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The Obama move is a start and a move in the right direction.
It's not enough. But it's a start.
Look at this tree. I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time [...] No matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Master Oogway
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I can only hope that the employees of Sonoma County who were involved find themselves out of a job.
At the very least I hope the cost of Clay's future care is included in the lawsuit. The lawyers need to ask for millions in reparations even though that will not cover the pain and anguish involved.
I agree with Saben. What Obama has done is just a beginning and we should settle for no less than a full partnership and the rights of every other citizen.
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
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ray2x
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Really getting into it |
Location: USA
Registered: April 2009
Messages: 429
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A bit surprising. Sonoma County was as far as I could remember a fairly liberal area. Times change and perhaps the conservative minded have been busy making changes. In this time of budget problems, Sonoma County won't have much to pay a large monetary settlement which they owe to Clay. But the County will and must pay.
Raymundo
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One of the cool things we have done is to do student court and hear different made up cases and pretend we are the jury. It made me understand that there are two sides to everything. Yea what happened to these two older dudes was terrible and they supposedly had all the paperwork in place. So if that was true how come the county did not follow their wishes? I think there is more to this story that is lurking behind the emotional details. Like no mention was made of medical insurance. They had all the paperwork but no insurance to back up the demands? Also the older man was said to be in frail health and maybe this also means he was into Alzheimers or something, and the younger partner was not all there himself and really not able to make serious decisions.
I'm just saying. I'm just saying you guys. I know a social worker she is the mom of a friend of mine in school. They see so much of the terrible side of humanity and the case loads are so huge that she is like burned out. They cant get caught up in individual case drama and get emotionally involved because that would eat them alive. If the county had to accept the dude as a public charge then there are most likely rules and procedures to sell the assets of the poor person.
Please dont cut my head off OK? I just dont think the entire county social work department would have gone through with something so terrible if there had been other things they could have done.
But is was a sad thing.:'-(
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Appalling Outrage Against Simple Human Dignity 
