No one should die like Harold

No one should die like Harold.

Harold and Clay
Thanks to the National Center for Lesbian Rights
for their work on the case.

In mid-April we heard a heartbreaking story from our friends at the National Center for Lesbian Rights about Clay Greene and Harold Scull, an elderly gay couple in Sonoma County, CA, who were kept apart when Harold was hospitalized in 2008. After Harold's death, the county terminated Harold and Clay's lease, removed Clay from his home, and confined him to a nursing home against his will. The county also auctioned off all of their belongings. Clay grieved alone, away from his home, and stripped of all his possessions.

Harold and Clay's story reminds us that there are no fractions of equality. Although President Obama issued a directive in mid-April to the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a rule that would prevent hospitals from denying visitation privileges to gay and lesbian partners, it is simply not enough. We expect and deserve to see real leadership for equality; not just empty half-measures.

Please send a letter to President Obama to share Harold and Clay's story, remind him of the promises he has made, and ask him to be a fierce advocate for equality. You can use the letter we provide below, or you can write your own.

May 21, 2013

Subject:
It's time to be a fierce advocate for equality.

Dear President Obama:

Thank you for your memorandum to the Department of Health and Human Services establishing a rule preventing hospitals from denying visitation privileges to same-sex partners. This is a step toward fairness and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans, but leaves in place a larger culture of ignorance and intolerance which perpetuates a climate where discrimination and inhumanity flourish. From the Defense of Marriage Act, to the absence of employment protections, to the ongoing indignity of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, every day LGBT Americans endure continued stigma under the law.

A particularly wrenching example of this blatant cruelty involves Clay Greene and Harold Scull in Sonoma County, CA. They were kept apart when Harold was hospitalized in 2008. After Harold's death, the county terminated Harold and Clay's lease, removed Clay from his home, and confined him to a nursing home against his will. The county also auctioned off all of their belongings. Clay grieved alone, away from his home, and stripped of all his possessions.

This horror story demonstrates the threat that hangs over the heads of committed same-sex couples. Although we applaud your memo to HHS, we still wait for the great American promise of "liberty and justice for all" to be fulfilled.

President Obama, you have described yourself as a "fierce advocate for equality." The community hopes that we will find justice under your leadership, but our optimism diminishes each day that we remain unequal. I ask you to fulfill your promises by calling on Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, enact the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell immediately.
 
Sincerely,

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