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Advocate.com: Gay Man Prevented From Dying Partner Wins Lawsuit

David S. Novak — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:58:58 +0000

By Advocate.com

An elderly gay man who was prevented from seeing his dying partner in the hospital social workers will receive $600,000 in a settlement, reports the Mercury News. Clay Greene, 78, of Guerneville, Calif filed a lawsuit against Sonoma County’s Public Guardian program earlier this year, claiming he was discriminated against because of his sexual orientation.

Greene accused the county’s social workers of denying him hospital visitation rights to see his partner, Harold Scull, despite medical declarations, powers of attorney, and signed wills that named each other as spouses. The couple was not married nor registered as domestic partners. The lawsuit also alleged that after Scull died, Greene was forced into a nursing home by social workers, who then sold many items of the couple’s personal property.

Gregory Spaulding, the attorney who represented the county, denied the discrimination claims, but he admitted mistakes in selling the couple’s property. According to the county, Greene was kept away from his partner because of previous domestic violence allegations. According to a sheriff’s report, Scull went to authorities with a black eye, claiming Greene threatened to kill him. However, no formal complaint was lodged against Scull.

“The county remains confident in its position that there was no discrimination in this case,” Spaulding says. Under the law, property worth $5,000 or less can be sold by officials to cover medical expenses, but the sale of the couple’s property brought in more than $25,000 at auction. “Errors in that case have led to revised policies at the Public Guardian’s office,” Spaulding says.

Spaulding acknowledges the county settled the case Thursday to avoid further expense. “It just made economic sense to stop the bleeding,” Spaulding says. “To end the case and avoid all expenses and costs.”

Advocate.com: Obama Includes Gay Dads in Proclamation

David S. Novak — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:00:12 +0000

By Advocate.com Editors

President Obama issued a Father’s Day Proclamation Friday that includes gay dads. Read an excerpt below.

From the president’s proclamation: “Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by a father and mother, single father, two fathers, a step father, a grandfather, or caring guardian. We owe a special debt of gratitude for those parents serving in the United States Armed Forces and their families, whose sacrifices protect the lives and liberties of all American children. For the character they build, the doors, they open, and the love they provide over our lifetimes, all our fathers deserve our unending appreciation and admiration

Advocate.com: Gay Friends Named Prom King and Queen

David S. Novak — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 10:00:45 +0000

By Jamie Larson

The Hudson High School prom made history this past Saturday when openly gay best friends were named prom king and queen.

Seniors Charlie Ferrusi and Timmy Howard won their respective crown and tiara by a landslide Saturday and said the support they received from their peers and school administration has been fun and humbling.

“It’s a really big step for Hudson but also for the gay community in general,” Howard said Wednesday. “To have this happen in our city is pretty exciting.”

Ferrusi said he and Howard started thinking about running about a month ago. While there were some students who were in opposition to their idea many more approved and the boys decided to go for it.
By prom night the overwhelming majority of students cast their votes in the open ballot race. They won by such a wide margin the school didn’t crown any runners up.

In 2008 Augie Abatecola ran and won the race for Hudson prom queen but he was denied the crown by school officials. This time around Ferrusi and Howard decided to run their plan by advisors and Principal Steven Spicer beforehand.

The school officials said they wouldn’t interfere with the student body’s vote and gave the boys their blessing.

“We’re proud of all our students,” said Spicer Wednesday. “They know they have the right to pick whoever they want. It was exciting for them and it was exciting for Charlie and Tim.”

One of the hardest parts of the experience, Ferrusi and Howard said, was deciding who would run for king and who would be queen. Both added they had the full support of their families.

While they were pretty sure they would win due to the buzz around school the boys said they still weren’t sure everyone would vote for them.

“First of all it’s Hudson High School,” said Ferrusi. “For me to win king was crazy. For Timmy to win queen was insane. We both researched it online and never found any story of two gay guys winning both king and queen.”

In recent years across the U.S. openly gay and lesbian teens have clashed with school officials at prom time.

Advocate.com: Gay Malawi Couple Separated in Jail

David S. Novak — Sat, 29 May 2010 12:00:58 +0000

Gay Malawi Couple Separated in Jail

By Julie Bolcer

Steven Mojenza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, the Malawi couple sentenced to 14 years in prison last week for holding a public engagement ceremony, have been placed in separate prisons after spending months in the same facility.

According to CNN International, Monjeza was moved from the facility where the men had been held since their arrest in December.

“It was not clear why Steven Mojenza was moved from Chichiri prison, where he had been serving time with his partner, Tiwonge Chimbalanga,” reports CNN International. “The pair was sentenced last week to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of gross indecency and unnatural acts.

“Though in separate cells at Chichiri, the men were able to see each other briefly ‘from time to time,’ said Peter Tatchell, a London-based gay rights activist who has been advocating for the men.”

A Malawi-based human rights campaigner told CNN International that Monjeza was not the only prisoner moved to another facility, and that he would learn more when he visits Monjeza in the new prison Thursday.

Advocate.com: Partner Benefits Hearing Next Wed

David S. Novak — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:47:48 +0000

Partner Benefits Hearing Next Wed

By Kerry Eleveld

A committee markup has been scheduled for the Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act, which will provide benefits to the domestic partners of federal government employees. Markups are the process by which congressional committees finalize the language of a bill and then vote on the legislation. If the bill is voted out of committee, it heads to the floor for a full House vote.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will mark up DPBO on Wednesday, November 18, at 2 p.m.

Overall, next week will be a busy one for LGBT issues: In addition to the DPBO markup, the House Education & Labor Committee will mark up Employment Non-Discrimination Act legislation on Wednesday, November 18, at 10 a.m.

And on Thursday, November 19, at 9:30 a.m., the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Clifford Stanley, a retired general who has been nominated as undersecretary of Personnel and Readiness — a key post in the Department of Defense that oversees the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Advocate.com: GLAAD Board Member Dies on Atlantis Events Vacation

David S. Novak — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:21:45 +0000

By Andrew Harmon

A member of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s national board died Saturday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, during an Atlantis Events cruise vacation.

According to sources on board, Spencer Yu, a Los Angeles attorney, suffered cardiac arrest October 21 while on the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas, which was chartered by Atlantis for a seven-day trip along the Mexican Riviera. A medical team attempted to resuscitate Yu for 45 minutes before he was taken to a Puerto Vallarta hospital, where he showed no brain activity. Yu was later taken off of life support.

Rich Campbell, president and CEO of Atlantis Events and a friend of Yu’s, said he was only aware of Yu’s “serious medical condition” when he was taken by the medical team off the ship. Royal Caribbean “doesn’t give us access to personal medical information as the charter of the ship,” Campbell said. “We’re simply not given that information. It’s a private matter.”

Royal Caribbean representatives could not be reached for comment as of press time.

A member of the GLAAD national board of directors since 2006, Yu, 40, was a vice president of business and legal affairs for Warner Bros. and a graduate of University of Texas School of Law. He served as cochair of the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles for the past two years and was scheduled to cohost again in 2010.

“Spencer was tirelessly optimistic and brought a ray of sunshine to everyone at GLAAD,” said GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios.

Jim Key, chief public affairs officer for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, said, “I wasn’t one of his closest friends, but Spencer had a way of making me — and everyone he met — feel like they were special. He truly was one of the most joyous, sweet and genuine people I’ve ever known, with a smile that would light up a room and reflect the warmth of his spirit.”

Warner Bros. issued the following statement to The Advocate: “It is with the deepest sadness that I share with you the news of Spencer Yu’s passing. Spencer passed away on Saturday, October 24th with his family at his side. Our sincerest condolences go out to Spencer’s family, friends and loved ones.

Spencer joined the Company nine years ago originally in the WB Online group and we were fortunate when he joined our group in CBDS in 2003. Spencer played a vital role for Warner Bros. in managing complex transactions as an expert lawyer. He was a valued friend, trusted colleague and exceptional lawyer who could always be counted on to do the ‘right thing.’ He will long be remembered and greatly missed.”

According to Barrios, Yu’s surviving partner, Dan Neisen, has asked that donations be made to GLAAD’s Spencer Yu Memorial Fund in lieu of flowers (donations can be made here). A private memorial service is scheduled for Friday in Los Angeles.

Advocate.com: Straight Guys Tell

David S. Novak — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:43:06 +0000

By Michael Joseph Gross

Straight Guys Tell

You’ve heard the threats — about how gay men in the shower might bring down the U.S. military with a wink, a pinch, or a flick of a wet towel. But where’s the truth in that? What’s it really like to serve alongside gay and lesbian service members?

I don’t have permission to be on base, and I’m nervous, because when I told veterans what I planned to do, they all gave me pretty much the same warning: Any soldier I approach could call the Military Police, who would escort me to the gates and kick me out — unless they detained me for questioning.

At lunchtime on a gray September Sunday, a retired officer drove me onto the Fort Lewis Army base in Washington, about 50 miles south of Seattle, and dropped me at the PX (military lingo for “post exchange”), which is basically a food court wrapped in a mini-mall that includes a GNC store, a barber shop, a video arcade, and a folding table where a friendly old guy sells wooden American flags he carves out of what he claims are 1,000-year-old logs. (A sign on the wall behind him reads, ask me how i know the logs are one thousand years old!) Until the cops come, I am haunting the food court, walking up to straight soldiers and asking whether they’ve ever been aware of serving alongside a gay soldier and, if so, what it was like.

I’m conducting this extremely unscientific survey in hopes that the straight guys will tell some stories that might shed light on the debate about repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the federal law and Pentagon policy on gays in the military, which will be the subject of a Senate hearing this fall. DADT is based on the proposition that straight soldiers cannot work with openly gay soldiers. Supporters of the ban argue that gays, if allowed to serve openly, would harm unit cohesion, troop readiness, and morale, largely because their presence would make straight soldiers self-conscious showering or dressing in front of them.

Yet some gay and lesbian soldiers are already serving openly in the U.S. armed forces. Although last year 619 soldiers were thrown out of the military for being gay, the policy is selectively enforced. According to a 2006 poll by Zogby International, 45% of service members suspect that at least one person in their unit is gay or lesbian, and 23% are sure of it. In Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans in battalions of combined international forces have fought under command of openly gay officers from Canada or the United Kingdom or alongside gay soldiers from 11 other countries (among the 25 worldwide) that allow known gays to serve: Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. Openly gay, armed military contractors serve alongside U.S. soldiers in combat theaters as well.

Such experiences have helped to move some veterans, including U.S. representative Patrick Murphy, a straight Irish Catholic Blue Dog Democrat from Pennsylvania, to work for DADT’s repeal. Murphy taught constitutional law at West Point, volunteered for overseas deployment after 9/11, served in Bosnia, went to Baghdad as a paratrooper and Judge Advocate General’s Corps attorney with the 82nd Airborne Division, and was awarded the Bronze Star. Along the way, he says, “I saw great officers, great leaders, who had to resign their commission because they wanted to live by Army values, and they feel that it’s inconsistent with those values to live a lie.” And he was deeply troubled when he saw talented soldiers being replaced by mediocre ones because of DADT: “My battle buddy in one of the toughest courses in the Army got kicked out because he happened to be gay. And the guy who took his place couldn’t carry his lunch.”

Advocate.com: Obama Needs Some Pressure

David S. Novak — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:50:33 +0000

Posted on Advocate.com October 09, 2009

Cleve Jones: Obama Needs Some Pressure

By Julie Bolcer

National Equality March lead organizer Cleve Jones joined Anderson Cooper on CNN Thursday night to discuss the reasons for the march taking place in Washington, D.C. this Sunday, including his belief that President Obama still needs some “pressure.”

“I believe that President Obama wants to do the right thing, but I belive that he, like most politicians, needs some pressure and a little prodding,” Jones told Cooper.

His remarks followed a statement on Wednesday from Congressman Barney Frank, who said the march was “useless” and that prospective attendees should stay home because the president did not need the pressure.

“We’re marching this weekend to show that we want action, but we’re also trying to change the conversation,” Jones said, in a reference to his argument for a federal, rather than state and local, strategy for equality.

The exchange between Jones and Cooper was preceded by a segment on Obama’s promises to the LGBT community as a presidential candidate. Former Clinton advisor Richard Socarides and blogger Pam Spaulding appeared.