Last November, we saw a lot of political ads that stated, "Gay marriage will be forced on you; You deserve the right to vote on gay marriage; Gay marriage will ruin Minnesota." On April 26th, 2011, the GOP announced the introduction of a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage and make it much harder to overturn (Minnesota state law already defines marriage as one man and...
[read more] Last November, we saw a lot of political ads that stated, "Gay marriage will be forced on you; You deserve the right to vote on gay marriage; Gay marriage will ruin Minnesota." On April 26th, 2011, the GOP announced the introduction of a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage and make it much harder to overturn (Minnesota state law already defines marriage as one man and one woman). The GOP is not asking you if gays and lesbians should marry. They are asking you to ban it. I want to share a story with you about two elderly men who were torn apart for loving each other...
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.
Hello Friends... Thank you for taking the time to read this story. I encourage those of you that agree to forward an invite and post this on your wall. The only way to make people realize they may be causing unwanted pain and anguish is to put a face on the issue. Please let your friends know that everyone has the right to live and die with dignity.
(This is an invitation to stand up for this cause in November 2012 and share the message with your family and friends.)
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