QUEER MONTCLAIR: Out in Essex

Post Office Box 1974 Bloomfield, New Jersey 07003

E-Mail: [email protected]

Web: http://www.geocities.com/queermontclair

Autumn, 2002

Dear Friends,

The press of business and personal obligations these past few months has forced me to abbreviate the issuance of our QM newsletter, and while a summer newsletter is missing, September through October have regrettably had to be compressed into a quarterly "Autumn 2002" issue. Happily, it appears as though a more timely, monthly newsletter wil be the rule in future.

A quick perusal of the news items that follow will give a sense of just how much has transpired – and is transpiring – within our community in the Garden State. But there are two events – of a theatrical character – of particular interest and importance that are taking place locally over the month of November, which I hope you will all make a special effort to attend, urge your friends and families to attend, and support in every way possible. Thus, I have placed these two items at the beginning of our list of news items.

Let me take this opportunity to wish all of you a happy, healthy and auspicious Autumn 2002 and a coming season of holidays filled with joy and Pride.

Warm regards!

In solidarity,

Bill Courson

For Queer Montclair

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LUNA STAGE-MONTCLAIR TO STAGE DRAMATIZATION OF CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA JORDAN’S LIFE

From November 14th through December 8th, Montclair’s Luna Stage theater Company will present the East Coast Premiere of "A Voice of Good Hope," by Kristine Thatcher.

The play depicts the complex personal and political life of the late Texas Congresswoman, following her rise from a Houston ghetto through her pivotal role in Richard Nixon’s impeachment as a leading member of the House Judiciary Committee, to her struggle with multiple sclerosis, to her issues in coming out as an African-American lesbian. It also examines the tensions between ideals and pragmatism in the political realm and asks how much can one compromise in order to effect change. Luna Stage is located at 695 Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair. For detailed information, please call 973-744-3309, or visit Luna Stage’s website at www.lunastage.org. Also visit the site on Barbara Jordan maintained by Rice University at http://riceinfo.rice.edu/armadillo/Texas/jordan.html.

 

NUTLEY LITTLE THEATER TO STAGE PLAY ON LIFE OF ALAN TURING

Beginning on November 1st, the Nutley Little Theater will stage "A Most Secret War" by Kevin Patterson, directed by Lee Guest-Moore, on the life of mathematician, athlete, code-breaker and inventor of the computer, Alan Turing, an "out" gay man at a time in England’s history that has been characterized as a "heterosexual dictatorship."

At the height of World War II, Alan Turing was a prominent member of the British Bletchley Park crypto-analytic team that broke the Nazi Enigma code. In 1954, he was found dead in his bed, an apparent suicide, after having been forced by the English courts to undergo a series of estrogen injections to "cure" him of his homosexuality. This drama recounts the story of the British government's pursuit and persecution of the brilliant mathematician for his open homosexuality.

The play will be presented on November 1st through 3rd, 8th through 10th, and 14th through 16th. The Nutley Little Theater is located at 47 Erie Place, in Nutley, New Jersey. For more information or tickets, call 973-667-0374, or visit the theater’s website at http://www.live-theatre.com/. Information on Alan Turing can be viewed on the web at http://www.turing.org.uk/turing/

 

FIVE U.S. METRO AREAS CONTAIN 1/4 OF ALL SAME-SEX HOUSEHOLDS, ACCORDING TO NGLTF ANALYSIS OF 2000 CENSUS DATA; RURAL STATES EXPERIENCE EXPLOSIVE GROWTH IN SAME-SEX COUPLES' REPORTING

New York, October 9, 2002 - More than one quarter of the same-sex households identified on the 2000 Census are concentrated in five major metropolitan areas, while several smaller cities have the highest densities of same-sex households, according to a report released today by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) Policy Institute. According to the report, "The 2000 Census and Same-Sex Households: A User's Guide," New York City has the largest share, or 8.9 percent, of all same-sex households, followed by Los Angeles with 6.6 percent, San Francisco with 4.9 percent, Washington, DC with 3.3 percent and Chicago with 3.1 percent.

With regard to concentration of same-sex households as a proportion of all households in a metropolitan area, San Francisco has the highest concentration, followed by Santa Fe, NM, Portland, ME, and Burlington, VT. Seattle, WA, Miami, FL, and Austin, TX ranked fifth among all households reporting same-sex cohabiting couples. The report, authored by Judith Bradford, Ph.D., Kirsten Barrett, Ph.D. and Julie A. Honnold, Ph.D., was co-published by

the Survey Evaluation and Research Laboratory (SERL) at Virginia Commonwealth University, and The Fenway Institute in Boston.

The report dramatically documents the increase in the number of self-identifying same-sex households in the U. S. Census, from under 150,000 in 1990 to approximately 600,000 in 2000. Although the data set only counts a small minority of the GLBT population in the U.S., it nevertheless represents the largest single data set of GLBT people in the country, accounting for roughly 1.2 million people.

In addition to the dramatic increase in the number of those self- identifying since 1990, "The 2000 Census and Same-Sex Households" highlights regional concentrations of same-sex couples through state and city maps comparing the number of households reporting in 1990 and 2000. The report also found that many rural states experienced remarkable increases in the numbers of same-sex couples self-reporting. Wyoming recorded the largest proportional increase of same-sex couples reporting, from just 30 in 1990 to more than 800 in 2000, representing a 2,590 percent increase. South Dakota was next with a 1,657 percent increase in couples reporting, followed by Idaho with a 952 percent increase, West Virginia with an 850 percent increase, and Delaware with a 781 percent increase. Most states reported that the number of same-sex households doubled or tripled from 1990 to 2000.

NEW JERSEY TEEN RECEIVES PROBATION IN ANTI-GAY HATE ATTACK

CAMDEN, N.J. — A 15-year-old boy was found guilty Sept. 24 of a bias crime of intimidation against his neighbor in July, the Courier Post reported. The high school sophomore scared the gay victim in July by swinging a baseball bat at him and making anti-gay remarks, according to court records. The victim told the court that he is still afraid of the youth. "If someone calls me a faggot and has a baseball bat, I'm intimidated," the victim said. "He was swinging it toward me and he wasn't moving away.'' A judge found the youth not guilty of a separate incident and a charge of shouting a slur at the man from inside his apartment due to lack of evidence. The youth received one year probation and must take an anger management course.

NEW JERSEY assembly committee gives minors right to confidential HIV tests

The New Jersey Assembly's health and human services committee voted 5-0 on Thursday, October 9th, on a bill that would allow minors in the state to get tested for HIV antibodies without letting their parents know, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. Current state law allows minors to undergo testing and treatment for other sexually transmitted diseases and to receive substance abuse counseling and treatment without parental notification, but the law does not specifically address HIV. Bill sponsor Reed Gusciora said the bill aims to alleviate the fears some youths have that their parents will find out if they are tested for HIV antibodies. Some Republican lawmakers not on the health committee had lobbied the committee to reject the bill.

NJGayLife and RSVP Networking Event – October 24th

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event sponsored by NJGayLife and RSVP Networking Event and Business Card Exchange Date: Thursday, October 24, 2002 Time: 5:30PM - 9:00PM EDT - New Jersey Gay Life and RSVP -Networking Event & Business Card Exchange for Vendors, Business People and just plain folk. Thursday, October 24, 2002 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM at the Plainfield Armory, 1201 E. Seventh St., Plainfield, N.J.

'SpongeBob' attracts gay fans

Be it Bugs Bunny in drag or Tinky Winky with his purse, cartoons and comics have held a special place in the hearts of GLBT people, either because the characters appear to be gay or because the shows have a "gay sensibility."

Now SpongeBob is the latest addition to the list. "SpongeBob SquarePants" is the highest rated kids' show on television and can be seen on the Nickelodeon cable TV channel. The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that SpongeBob items are flying off the shelves at novelty stores in New York's gay Chelsea neighborhood as well as in Atlanta. And the phenomenon is apparently the same on the West Coast.

"Originally we got one sticker to see how it did, and we sold out of it in a week," said Dylan Stefano, who manages the Don't Panic store in West Hollywood, Calif. Since then the store has brought in SpongeBob key chains, air fresheners, magnets and iron-on patches. "That's probably the most popular right now, straight or gay," Stefano told the Gay.com/PlanetOut Network. "It's universal. It's seen as a cartoon character that people can cherish," he said. The trend is similar in San Francisco, as well. "They are pretty good sellers especially with young gay kids, and guys in their 30's think it's hilarious," said Raymond Riddering, the assistant manager of the Don't Panic store in San Francisco's Castro District.

"I don't think anyone has bought it because they think he's gay. He doesn't have anything on him that screams gay. But the gay population likes him," Riddering told the Gay.com/PlanetOut Network.

"He's a sponge, how can he be gay?" joked Cathy Renna of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). She said she does wonder, though, about the ultratomboyish tendencies of SpongeBob's squirrel friend "Sandy Cheeks." Renna added that the program has been a crossover hit for adults of all orientations. But she does see the special draw for the gay and lesbian community. "I think our community has a finely tuned sense of what is fun and campy, and the show is definitely fun and campy," she told the Gay.com/PlanetOut Network. "The show also talks about tolerance," which Renna says is not often seen in the mainstream media. While making it clear the characters are not gay, SpongeBob's creator does see the show's attraction to the GLBT community. "I do think that the attitude of the show is about tolerance," show creator Stephen Hillenburg told the Wall Street Journal. "Everybody is different, and the show embraces that."

Third Annual Mr. New Jersey Leather Contest – OCTOBER 18th

Date: Friday, October 18, 2002 Time: All Day

Third Annual Mr. New Jersey Leather Contest –

Location: Paradise, 101 Asbury Ave., Asbury Park, NJ. http://leathernjonline.com/ Phone (732) 888-1790.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18th Fetish Fair - 8 pm til’ Uniform Party - 10 pm to closing "Meet and Greet" (introduction of contestants) – Midnight

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19th Doors open at 4pm Mr. NJ Leather Contest ($15 at the door) – 6 pm Leather Country following the contest First Annual Leather Ball – 11 pm

BOSTON UNIVERSITY’S ANTI-GAY CHANCELLOR FEELS THE HEAT

Things are getting hotter at Boston University, where Chancellor John Silber killed a gay-straight alliance at the Boston Academy, a high school under the university's purview.

Silber's been a busy beaver responding to the loads of criticism he's received from students, alumni, the Boston press and city council, and child advocates around the nation. In addition to defending discrimination against gays and the disabled in various of his writings, Silber responded to a group of law students who wrote him by telling them that they and not he may in fact be bigots. Interestingly, Silber has reportedly written a much nicer, friendlier private reply to some others who have complained - suggesting he's perhaps starting to feel the heat.

Read the latest on this issue here: http://www.dailyfreepress.com/main.cfm/include/detail/storyid/291202.html

Feel free to contact Silber and BU, and let them know that gay youth at the BU Academy should not have to pay for Silber's arrogance and intolerance.

Silber recently gave a speech to BU students that is so outlandish it really made listeners question whether he's even qualified to run BU.

A few of Silber's choice pronouncements?

He supports discrimination against gays and people with disabilities. (Even though Silber's own gay son died from complications associated with AIDS, and Silber only has one arm). He thinks most gay people are gay because they were "seduced" into having sex that way. He says the Boy Scouts should be able to discriminate against gay men as a safety precaution because the Boy Scouts used to be overrun with gay pedophiles. And he thinks the First Amendment shouldn't apply to radio, TV or the Internet. One needs to read these quotes in their entirety. It might be time for us all to demand that supporters and alumni stop funding "the Dr. Laura of universities."

Here are pertinent contact numbers and addresses:

BU Chancellor John Silber - phone: 617-353-4300

BU Alumni & Development Office - email: mailto:[email protected] - phone: 617-353-9500 - Fax: 617-353-5838

BU Board of Trustees: - Elaine Kirshenbaum, director of health policy for the Massachusetts Medical Society - mailto:[email protected] - call toll-free, 1-800- 322-2303, and ask for extension 7223 or dial direct: (781) 434 7223

Richard DeWolfe, chairman of the board of trustees, and chairman and CEO of DeWolfe Companies, Inc - phone: 781-863-5858 - email: http://www.dewolfe.com/ContactUs/Contact_Us.htm?referer_url=info

Frederick Bertino, president and creative director of McCarthy Mambro Bertino LLC - phone: 617-670-9700 - fax: 617-670-9711

Dexter Dodge, president and chief executive officer of Freedom Capital Management - phone 617-725-2300

PARIS MAYOR STABBED IN ANTI-GAY HATE ATTACK

Over the past six months, there has been a marked increase in hate crimes against gays against LGBTQ people. On Sunday, October 6th, the mayor of Paris was stabbed by a Muslim man who said he didn't like homosexuals and politicians.

Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe was stabbed early Sunday as he presided over an all-night cultural party at city hall. Delanoe, the first out mayor of a major world city was rushed to hospital suffering a single stab wound to his abdomen. Doctors at Pitie-Salpetriere hospital operated on Delanoe for more than three hours. He is expected to remain hospitalized for several weeks. Police arrested a man at the scene. During interrogations he told investigators he hated gays and politicians. The man's name has not been released. Officers said only that he told them he was a devout Muslim and acted out of the faith's opposition to homosexuality. Investigators said they do not believe he is linked to any Islamic fundamentalist parties.

Police said he came from " one of the tough neighborhoods in the Paris suburbs" and had been hospitalized previously for psychiatric treatment The 52 year old mayor was attending Paris' first "Sleepless Night" festival when he was attacked. Dozens of museums and tourist attractions, including the Eiffel Tower, were open all night, and concerts and art exhibits were held throughout the French capital. Nearly 2,000 people had gathered in that opulent Salle des Fetes at City Hall for a concert of electronic lounge music and Delanoe was moving freely through the crowd without security guards when he was stabbed.

A spokesperson for Delanoe said security had been kept to a minimum because Delanoe wanted to maintain a relaxed atmosphere. Visitors milled about and were able to enter and leave the building without being searched or questioned. Delanoe came out in a radio interview in 1999.

He was elected Mayor in 2001, promising to improve the quality of life in Paris, reduce pollution and cut down on traffic. A virtual unknown before the election, Delanoe has since organized popular events in Paris, such as turning the banks of the Seine River into a beach for picnics and holding street parties this summer. Before his win, Paris City Hall had been controlled by President Jacques Chirac's conservatives for a quarter-century.

 

PRIDE CENTER HONORS NEW JERSEY GAY COUPLES

Join the Pride Center of NJ's October 2002 National Coming Out Celebration, whose theme this year is "Honoring New Jersey's Right to Marry" Couples. The event is scheduled for Saturday, October 19th, 7:00 p.m. Come meet some of the seven couples who filed the lawsuit against the state of New Jersey to gain the right to marry!

Suggested donation: $5, Student Price: $2; Children welcome and free
Refreshments served! Prizes! Learn more about the New Jersey's LGBTI community and how you can become involved.

The event will be at the Pride Center of New Jersey, 1048 Livingston Avenue, North Brunswick, NJ. For further information, call 732-846-2232 or see their website at www.pridecenter.org

MONTCLAIR UNITARIAN SPONSOR WASHINGTON BUS TRIP, RALLY FOR PEACE

Friends and members of the Unitarian Church of Montclair will be joining the demonstration against war on Iraq on Saturday, October 26, 2002 in Washington D.C. Gather at 5:45 a.m. and leave by bus at 6:00 a.m. sharp. The rally begins at 11:00 a.m. They will leave D.C. at 5:00p.m., returning to Montclair at approximately 10:00 p.m. Bus fare is $25.00 per person. Please make checks payable to the Unitarian Church of Montclair and send to the office. All are welcome. Young people under the age of 18 will need a parent or adult guardian. Contacts: Carmen @ 973-744-6276 or Sabine @ 973-509-8244. If you would like detailed information about the day's events, log onto www.internationalanswer.org

AMERICANS BELIEVE 1 IN 5 IS GAY

A new Gallup Poll shows that Americans believe 20 percent of the general population is gay or lesbian. The polling organization asked Americans for their own estimate of the percentage of American men and women who are gay or lesbian. The average responses were that 21% of men are gay and 22% of women are lesbians. Roughly a quarter of those surveyed thought that more than 25% of the population is gay. Gallup also noted that male respondents tended to give lower estimates of both the gay and lesbian populations than female respondents did, and that both sexes believe there are more gays of the opposite sex than of their own sex. At least one in six respondents did not offer an estimate. Gallop has been polling the American public on gay issues for more than 25 years. The statistics contained in the survey are similar to a recent poll for the Kaiser Family Foundation.

That survey, of fifteen metropolitan areas, found that 18% of those polled identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual. In the 1950s the Kinsey Institute shocked Americans when it said ten percent of the American population was gay.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said the new poll results show a growing awareness of gay and lesbians by Americans. "It's very difficult to say why these numbers are so much higher than previous studies," said Cathy Renna, GLAAD's news media director. "Clearly, the public realizes that the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community is sizable. Our hope is that this represents a better understanding of the complex nature of sexual orientation and a growing trend of respect and acceptance for our community and our lives."

" The Gallup numbers will certainly spur more debate and discussion, but the important message is that no matter what the numbers say, we are deserving of equal treatment and civil rights protections," Renna said.

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY GAY MARRIAGE EVENT – OCTOBER 16th

We would like to remind you of this upcoming event. Princeton University: 'Gay Marriage' Date: Wednesday, October 16, 2002 Time: 7:30PM EDT (GMT-04:00) Gay Marriage Same-Sex Marriages and Civil Unions are hot topics this year in NJ. Join statewide organizers for this forum about current domestic partner legislation and the legal fight to obtain full marriage rights. Sponsored by LGBT Student Services and The New Jersey Lesbian & Gay Coalition. Location: Frist Campus Center, Multipurpose Room Community members are always welcome at Princeton University events. Where is Princeton University, and where is this building/event? Visit: http://www.princeton.edu/Siteware/maptrans.shtml


TOURIST HAVEN BLIGHTED WITH ANTI-GAY HATE POSTERS

Work crews spent the better part of a day removing hate posters targeting gays and lesbians from lampposts throughout the Bermuda capital of Hamilton this past week. Rober Sherratt, a spokesperson for the Hamilton city government said the posters seemed to appear overnight. "The posters were full of hatred. They talked about homosexual people being satanic and demons," said Sherratt. "They were very homophobic and I would say had been done by someone who was not well. As soon as we received the reports, we went to take them down."

Sherratt said he became aware of the poster campaign after receiving numerous phone calls from concerned residents of the British colony in the Atlantic. The posters, crudely made and filled with spelling errors threatened an anti-gay march would be held through Hamilton later this month.

Postering is illegal in Bermuda where colonists espouse the quiet island life. "They were obviously put up by someone very hate-filled and clearly very nasty against homosexuals," said Sherratt. He said city officials will meet with police later this week to determine if hate crime charges could be laid if the person responsible is caught.

 

WOMENVISION & FIRST TUESDAY'S AUTUMN BUS RIDE TO ATLANTIC CITY SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27th

You’re invited to join WomenVision and First Tuesday’s on October 27th for their autumn bus ride to Atlantic City. 9am-9pm: $26 per person includes...coffee, luxury bus,prizes,50/50, raffle,goody bags...and $13 casino cash return The bus leaves 9am from Macy's parking lot at Garden State Plaza, Paramus, New Jersey TICKETS ON SALE NOW ! (Advance ticket sales only) Call 973-709-0455 or 201-262-6730 or send your check to WomenVision PO Box 3017 Memorial Station Upper Montclair, NJ 07043 (WomenVision & First Tuesday will donate a portion of the proceeds to charity)

 

Gov't Funding Yanked From Lesbian Health Conference

October 4, 2002

Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services pulled $75,000 in federal spending for a lesbian health conference, almost sinking it.

Federal health officials initially agreed to underwrite this year's "Healing Works" conference on lesbian health issues, promising $75,000 for the two-day session this fall. It would have been the second year the government had sponsored the event. But at the last minute conference organizers were notified that their grant had been rescinded. "Lesbians have been left out of research; they don't have equal access to care," said Kathleen DeBold, executive director of the Mautner Project, the nation's leading lesbian health advocacy group. "This could have killed the conference."

Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services blamed the decision on technical problems in the grant application, but DeBold said two high-ranking staffers told her a "conference on lesbian health did not fit with Secretary [Tommy G.] Thompson's vision." Organizers of the conference were forced to increase the registration fee from $75 to $300 and the conference went ahead last weekend as planned. But DeBold says the incident is another example of the Bush administration ignoring the needs of gays and lesbians.

"The big problem with the Bush administration is not that they are blatantly attacking lesbian and gay populations," said Patricia Dunn, policy director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. "It's just that they've been completely silent." Winnie Stachelberg, political director for the Human Rights Campaign, said there have been other instances in the past year when the administration has rescinded a promise of financial support, transferred people serving as gay liaisons to federal agencies and distanced itself from supporters of comprehensive sex education such as Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.

 

BUSH ADMINISTRATION IS HARASSING AIDS GROUPS

The Bush Administration has launched a series of witch hunts against AIDS groups across the country in an effort to penalize them for exercising their First Amendment rights. One Bush auditor, sent to harass an AIDS group in Washington, DC that caters to gay men, lectured the non-profit's employees on the Biblical evils of homosexuality, and even wrote down the citations for several Bible verses on her business card. John Aravosis jas written a long and revealing piece about this scandal which can be read at http://uspolitics.about.com/library/weekly/aa100302a.htm

 

America's Most Wanted Drops Gay Hate Story

September 30, 2002 (Los Angeles) A profile on gay hate-crimes in West Hollywood due to air on America's Most Wanted, Saturday, was dropped from the show. A spokesperson for America's Most Wanted told 365Gay.com Monday that "it fell out at the last minute."

Kim Newport said producers scheduled the show around "missing kids, and there was just no room." Newport said the segment was a follow up on a story about the attacks which aired following the brutal beating of actor Trev Broudy. The segment was to have focused on the hunt for the men responsible for the attacks on Broudy and three other gay men in the predominantly gay West Hollywood area. Broudy, who appeared in the film The Fluffer, remains in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he is undergoing extensive physiotherapy after he was beaten unconscious by a man wielding either a baseball bat or an iron bar.

A friend of the actor was also injured in the attack. He and the victims of two other attacks were treated and released from hospital. The most recent attack occurred September 21.

Newport said that the decision to drop the segment was made out of time considerations. America's Most Wanted airs on FOX. The network has pre-empted the series for the month of October for baseball coverage. It will return in November, but Newport said no decision has been made on when the segment will air.

Gay partners yet to receive federal 9/11 funds Lengthy application process, murky regulations slow process, attorney says

With the passing of the one-year anniversary, surviving gay partners of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are still waiting for awards from the federal Victim Compensation Fund. The program, under close scrutiny from relatives of victims, attorneys and government officials, has already received more than 600 claims from family members or people injured in the attacks.

Two weeks ago, an initial batch of 25 awards were made to families of victims of the attacks, with awards averaging $1.3 million, according to Charles Miller, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, which administers the fund. Those awards didn't include the surviving family members of any of the gay victims of the attack, a delay due in part to the lengthy application process for surviving partners and confusion over how the federal fund will address partners of gay victims, according to Miller and Jennifer Middleton, an attorney with the Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund.

Lambda represents several of the 22 known domestic partners of gay victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. "I can't tell you at this point and time that we will have a test case, a case where we might have someone that is a partner," Miller said. "We will have those, but I have no indication who will be the first recipients." Lambda has filed claims with the federal fund for "fewer than 10" of the domestic partners, but those claims weren't filed until earlier this year, which will delay any awards, Middleton said. Others have proceeded with their own attorneys, she added.

The U.S. Justice Department refused requests by gay advocacy groups to add language recognizing the eligibility of domestic partners in its final regulations governing the multimillion-dollar federal compensation program. The final DOJ regulations, released March 7, leave it up to state probate laws to decide which survivors are eligible for a federal compensation payment that could exceed $1 million. Except for Vermont and Hawaii, state probate laws do not recognize domestic partners. Under California's domestic partnership law, the surviving partner can receive the proceeds from a wrongful death lawsuit but cannot obtain the inheritance if the person did not state this in a will.

"The regulations as they currently stand are disappointing to same-sex partners. They leave no clear right for them to get money from the fund," Middleton said. Miller said he expects claims to be awarded in gay cases where there is no dispute with other family members. But if surviving family members contest a partner's claim to the award, the issue will most likely be decided according to state law, he said.

Of the surviving same-sex partners who have contacted Lambda, only six had wills, Middleton said. They are in the best position to obtain compensation from the federal fund, she said. The couples in question had been in long-term relationships that ranged from three to 26 years, Middleton said. The majority had been together for more than 10 years. While most of the surviving same-sex partners lived in New York and New Jersey, there were also gays killed on Sept. 11 who lived with their partners in California and New Hampshire. Middleton would not release the names of those who have approached Lambda for assistance.

When the federal awards are made, the names are also kept private, Miller said. Keith Bradkowski, one of Lambda's clients and the California resident whose partner, Jeffrey Collman, died on American Airlines Flight 11, has discussed his case publicly. Collman was a flight attendant. Maryland resident Peggy Neff, whose partner of 18 years, Shelia Hein, died at the Pentagon, also is one of Lambda's clients. Hein was a civilian Army employee and the family's primary breadwinner. Manhattan resident Larry Courtney, whose partner Eugene Clark was killed at the World Trade Center, is also a Lambda client. Clark was employed by Aon Consulting. Courtney and Bill Valentine have filed the first-ever same-sex partner claims with the state Workers' Compensation Board seeking spousal benefits under the state's Worker's Compensation Law. Valentine's partner Joe Lopes, an American Airlines flight attendant, was killed last November when Flight 587 crashed in Queens.

Kenneth R. Feinberg, the special master in charge of the federal Victim Compensation Fund, said he would exercise his authority to overrule state law if he believes an "injustice" would occur if a gay partner were denied compensation under the program.

 

MONTCLAIR-SPECTRUMS MEETS

SPECTRUMS, Montcliar State University’s LGBT student group, will be meeting this year on Tuesday evenings at 8:00PM in Room 417 of the MSU Student Center.

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