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Published Every Two Weeks On Recycled Paper > Volume 12, Number 6 • August 9, 1997 • FREE
Gay couples sue
for right to many
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
BURLINGTON, VT—^Three gay Vermont
couples are suing the state after they were de
nied marriage licenses in three separate towns.
The suits, filed July 22 in Chittenden Superior
Court in Burlington, VT, charge that the state
constitutions “common-benefit” clause means
that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry
just like opposite-sex couples.
The couples, Stan Baker and Peter Harrigan,
Nina Beck and Stacy JoUes, and Lois Farnham
and Holly Puterbaugh, sued the State of Ver
mont as well as Shelburne, South Burlington
and Milton, respectively, because the clerlu in
those towns reftxsed to issue them marriage li
censes.
The common benefits clause has historically
been Interpreted to mean that any state-sanc
tioned benefit offered to an individual or group
must be provided for all citizens. From this van-
tage point, the plaintiffs and their lawyers claim
that denying marriage rights to them is illegal.
Susan Murray and Beth Robinson, the at
torneys who are represenring the couples, main
tain that “the refusal to allow our clients to
marry violates both state marriage laws and the
state constitution, which require that all citi
zens and families have the same access to the
legal protections and obligations of civil mar
riage.” They added that “marriage is a funda
mental, individual personal choice, which
should be available to all Vermonters.”
Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell
disputes that interpretation. He says state laws
sanction only heterosexual marriage because
constitutional references to “bride and groom”
imply different genders.
Farnham, 52, said that the town clerk in
Milton was sympathetic to her situation, but
still denied the request for a marriage license.
When we went in, he said he would like to do
it, but he couldn’t under their interpretation of
the law.”
Vermont’s constitution — the first in the
nation to outlaw slavery and among the first to
extend voting rights to all
people — has often been
interpreted liberally by
elected and appointed
officials.
The plaintiffs
Stan Baker and
Peter Harrigan have
been together as a
couple for four years and
live in Shelburne. They explain
that they want to marry for the same mix of
reasons thar other couples choose to marry: they
love each other, they want to make a public
commitment to one another and they seek the
legal protections and obligations of civil mar
riage. Harrigan explains, “Marriage is a funda
mental right, central to me as a human being. I
am deeply devoted to my relationship with Stan
and would like our commitment to be sup
ported by legal rights afforded other commit-
red couples.”
Lois Farnham and Holly Puterbaugh have
lived together as a couple in Vermont for 25
years. Farnham is not entitled to receive
Puterbaugh’s social security benefits, nor are
they granted the right to make necessary medi
cal decisions or act as each other’s guardian in
their old age. Puterbaugh notes that “Lois has
done as much as any other spouse to earn my
retirement benefits, but she’s not entided to
them under present law.”
Nina Beck and Stacy JoUes are a couple of
seven years, parents of a two-year-old child and
residents of South Burlington. Two years ago,
when Beck was rushed to the hospital, JoUes
experienced firsthand the effects of discrimi
natory marriage laws. “The doctors did not treat
me as a famUy member,” she recalls, “and if I
had not had a signed medical power of attor
ney from Nina, they would not have let me be
with Nina or participate in any medical deci
sions that needed to be made.”
Speaking about their child. Beck declared
that “our son wUl be better off if his parents
can marry and enjoy the legal support and pro
tection that the civil marriage laws provide. He
needs and deserves to know that his parents have
a legal connection to one another, as well as to
him.” ▼
Sears named Acquisitions Director
of Institute’s gay Southern archive
Cunanan coverage touched
on many sore spots for gays
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
MIAMI—Andrew Cunanan’s suicide
brought an end to his macabre, four-month,
five-victim reign of terror just eight days after
he caprured the world’s attention by executing
superstar fashion designer Gianni Versace.
When news was broadcast July 24 that Mi
ami police had recovered Cunanan’s body, there
were declarations of celebra
tion, relief and even regret. (An
unidentified waiter ar Califor
nia Cuisine, a San Diego res
taurant that Cunanan fre
quented, said, “To us, he was
not just someone we followed
on the news. He was a friend.
There was no good ending for
this.”)
Many simply wondered if
the questions surrounding this
horrible crime spree would ever
be answered now that the only one who could
offer insight was dead. David Guerra, a 17-year-
old South Beach resident, noted that he would
like to know the truth. “I feel that if he would
have gotten arrested it would have been a lot
More Coverage:
Q-Notes Editor
David Stout
examines the
faulty logic
that's connecting
Cunanan to the
rest of us. Page 6.
better, because he would have paid back a little
for what he did. Now he’s dead and it’s over. I
would like to know what he got out of killing
all those people.”
Although preliininary autopsy evidence in
dicated he was HIV-negative, many media
reports flady declared that Cunanan, 27, was
exacting revenge for being infeaed with HIV.
A New York Post headline screamed, “AIDS fu
els his frenzy.” The front-page
headline was next to a picture
of a bare-chested Cunanan.
The “AIDS rampage” angle
to the coverage angered gay ac
tivists who said that it stemmed
from anti-gay stereotypes and
not facts.
“What it says about atti
tudes toward AIDS and HIV
is that [AIDS is] still viewed in
many people’s minds as a gay
plague, even though it’s spread
ing so rapidly now through other communi
ties,” said Kim Mills, deputy communications
director of the Human Rights Campaign. “The
driving impulse is trying to get your mind
See CUNANAN on page 21
by Wayne Smalley
Speciai to Q-Notes
COLUMBIA, SC—John O’Brien, execu
tive director of the Los Angeles-based ONE In
stitute, has announced the appointment of Dr.
James T. Sears as acquisitions director for the
Southern Studies col
lection at the Institute’s
Archives.
Sears, a professor at
the University of South
Carolina and the au
thor of eight books, in
cluding Growing Up
Gay in the South and
the soon-to-be-re
leased Lonely Hunters,
will be responsible for
acquisitions of new
materials from the-
South and oversee
their placement in the
archives.
ONE Insritute is
the oldest gay organi
zation in the Western hemisphere and the larg
est archive of gay and lesbian marerials in the
world.
“For too long the South has been neglected
in gay history. This, in part, has been due to
the lack of a sustained effort to systematically
collect lesbian and gay materials from the South.
Jim Sears is playing a major part in document
ing this history, and his affiliation with the In
stitute and Archives will benefit us in our col
lection efforts,” said O’Brien.
Dr. Sears will begin his efforts on behalf of
the Institute as he travels throughout the South
w
this fall on a promotional tour for his new book.
“The South is a major battleground in the
struggle for gay rights. Today, it is critical that
activists and those who support gay rights ini
tiatives understand the contributions and
struggles that earlier generations of lesbian and
gay Southerners have
made. We musr begin
to chronicle and to
preserve our Southern
gay history,” said
Sears.
“Southern history
is never simple and
seldom straight,”
Sears continued.
“While some of us
may not be able to
march in the streets,
we can all contribute
to gay history by col
lecting artifacts that
chronicle the lives and
stories of our gay an
cestors.”
Recently, the Institute’s Archives received
collections from veteran Mississippi acrivist
Eddie Sandifer and the non-South Florida ma
terials from the Stonewall Archives in Ft. Lau
derdale.
Persons who have gay-related materials such
as photographs, letters, books, diaries, arrwork,
newspapers, flyers, or organizational files and
would like to contribute them should contact
Dr. Sears ar (803) 777-3099, or visit his website
at http://www.jtsears.com. The ONE Instirure
can be found in cyberspace at http://
www.usc.edu/Library/oneigla. T
Dr. James T. Sears
Activists gather for historic
launch of state-groups coalition
by Mark F. Johnson
Special to Q-Notes
WASHINGTON, DC—An importanr
chapter in the movement for gay, lesbian, bi
sexual and transgender equality was marked the
weekend of July 18-20 by activists from srate-
wide political groups from 32 states. At the
meeting, activists officially launched the Fed
eration of Statewide Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Political Organizations. The
Federation’s purpose is to bolster the efforts of
these statewide groups through a network that
will foster strategizing across state lines, build
ing stronger state organizations and develop
ing good working relationships between state
and national groups.
The meeting was the result of an eight-
month collaboration berween the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) and the Fed
eration. It was the largest gathering ever of state
wide groups. States represented were Arkansas,
California, Colorado, Connecricut, Delaware,
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mis
sissippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New
York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylva
nia, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vir
ginia, Washington and West Virginia.
North Carolina’s organizational representa
tion was provided by NC Pride PAC for Les
bian and Gay Equality, a statewide political
action committee headquartered in Raleigh.
The three-day Federarion meeting was held
at the renowned Highlander Center outside
Knoxville, TN. For over 50 years, the High
lander Center has been a training center for la
bor, civil rights ^d other social jusrice move
ments. There, activists focused on adopting the
organizational structure for the Federation and
debating strategies on legislative issues. These
issues included sodomy law repeal, passage of
civil rights bills and family recognition strate
gies, as well as building strategies for effective
multicultural and coalition organizing. The
need for the Federation grew out of meetings
of statewide activists during the past two years
ar NGLTF’s annual Creating Change confer
ence. The Task Force coordinared the logistics
of the Tennessee meeting, providing scholar
ships and staffing and assisting in the planning.
“We have known for many years that the
real battles facing our communities would be
fought in the State Houses across the country,”
said Paula Ettelbrick of the Empire State Pride
Agenda, a founder and a co-chair of the Fed
eration. “It is essential that we create an orga
nizing structure that helps us to strategize as a
national network of lesbians and gay men in
order to support each other, share resources and
fight our common enemy of homophobia.”
The Federation will consist of 13 Executive
Committee members, seleaed from each region
of the country, who will set forth the mission
of the Federation. The Task Force will serve as
coordinator for the next three years. NGLTF
will coordinate and support the Federation’s
work through the dedication of staff and re
sources including the creation and dissemina-
See COALITION on page 23