Newspaper Page Text
Southern Voice/December 6, 1990
11
NEWS
Two D.C. Gays Sue City for $1.25 mil
in Battle Over Marriage License
Significant gains in domestic partnership issues also made in NY, CA and Washington
Washington, DC—Craig Dean and
Patrick Gill have been together for five
years. Recently they came to the decision
that it was time to further solidify their
relationship by getting married. Pastor
Candace Suites at the Metropolitan
Community Church agreed to perform the
ceremony—if they could get a marriage
license.
So on Nov. 19, Dean, a 27 year-old
attorney, and Gill, 23 and a marketing and
sales person for a national corporation,
marched upon the District of Columbia
marriage license bureau and requested a
license.
They got a flat "no," says Dean. "We
were told that the bureau does not autho
rize same-sex marriages."
So Dean went to work researching the
law. What he found was that the D.C.
marriage code "does not require that two
people being married be of opposite sex."
And of course the District has one of the
most comprehensive human rights ordi
nances in the country, gays and lesbians
are included on most every level.
So on Nov. 26 Dean filed a suit, on
behalf of himself and Gill, demanding
that D.C. pay the couple $1.25 million in
damages. "Someone has to take the first
step," says Dean comparing himself and
his lover to civil rights activist Rosa
Parks.
The suit asks for $250,000 in compen
satory damages—benefits such as taxes,
insurance and medical leave that couple
will not receive if they cannot be mar
ried—and $1 million in punitive damages
Patsy Lynch
Craig Dean and Patrick Gill
for "willful, unlawful and malicious
denial of our rights," says Dean. "We
thought that was a good amount, that it
would definitely get their [D.C. officials]
attention."
So far Dean and Gill have not received
an official response from the District gov
ernment But says Dean, he has spoken to
Mayor-elect Sharon Dixon and she told
him that she would support passage of
legislation that would clearly make it
legal for same-sex couples to marry in
D.C.
The case has drawn massive attention
in the mainstream media; all the major
TV networks carried the story according
to Dean, who adds that the lobby of his
DuPont Circle apartment building has
been packed with reporters. Most of that
response has been very positive he says,
"Pat Larson on the CBS morning news sat
down and talked with us for quite a while
after our interview aired; she was truly
interested and supportive."
More news on other domestic partner
ship issues around the country:
The first known lesbian wedding
announcement in a mainstream newspa
per ran in the December 3 edition of an
Everett, Washington daily. Sally Hudson
and Jennifer Quail were married August 5
and requested The Herald, circulation
54,000, to announce their partnership. The
paper decided to rename its Wedding
Book page as the Celebrations page.
Publisher Stan Strick told USA Today,
"We had to grant equal access. It's a
lifestyle in our community. We try to
reflect what happens here." The decision
was a local one; The Herald's parent
paper The Washington Post says it has
never had a request to run such an
announcement.
A proposed New York City bill
would protect unmarried couples. The
proposed ordinance would protect hetero
sexual and homosexual unmarried domes
tic partners against discrimination and
allow official documentation of their rela
tionship. The bill would cover such areas
as health benefits, municipal hospital ben
efits, prison visitation rights and city-
owned housing and shelters. The bill
would require unmarried domestic part
ners to file a statement with the county
clerk or to have it notarized in order to
publicly declare their partnership. "It's
time we realized that these nontraditional
families contribute just as much to our
society as everybody else," Council-
woman Carolyn Maloney told The New
York Times.
Despite angry protests, Stanford
University continues to stand by its poli
cy to allow gay and lesbian couples to live
in campus housing. On-campus opposi
tion has come from the conservative stu
dent newspaper Stanford Review and from
foreign student organizations (such as the
Islamic Society of Stanford), whose cul
tures are hostile to homosexuality. An on-
campus poll, however, found 64 percent
of students indicated support for the poli
cy. Tom Henning told the San Francisco
Sentinel, "I'm heartened by the support
we've gotten from single people and a lot
of married couples. The university has
taken a step, a courageous one, and stuck
to its guns."
San Jose, Calif, teachers can now
claim a "significant other" as a member
of the immediate family, sidestepping the
arduous process of passing domestic part
nership legislation. The change was
achieved in labor negotiations between
the San Jose teachers and the district
Board of Education, reports the San
Francisco Sentinel. "Significant other" is
defined as "two people who have chosen
to share one another's lives in a commit
ted relationship of mutual caring." San
Jose's teachers do not have to live under
the same roof or agree to be responsible
for one another's expenses, which is more
lenient than in San Francisco's domestic
partnership law.
MIDTOWN
• Fresh Produce • Groceries
• Breads • Pastries
MOVERS
• Natural Foods • Beer
• Wine and MORE
Picnic • Party Supplies
Residential, Commercial, Office.
Fine Antiques.
HOT & HEARTY
Packing, Un-Pack, Set-Up.
SOUPS
(Take-out Only)
COMPETITIVE RATES
1248 Virginia Ave. N.E. Open Daily 10-9
Off Briarcliff Rd. ^ SUNDAYS 10-6
Hourly/Contract prices.
References
Simple solutions that work.
872’8991 Call Ahead for Faster Service
377-9870
YUMMY
Turn your party
into a feast!
Affordably. Flawlessly.
Intimate dinners for two
to an extravaganza for 1,000
of your closest friends.
pie
11
lit
CA
ff a,
zoz.
Historic l ord factory Square
699 Ponce De I.eon Ave.
Atlanta, Ga. 30308
(404)892-8850 (404)642-5818
the fTRfTof
fF<R&Ml9{g
1Dedicated to your satisfaction
Full Service Custom Specialist
• Original Art • Posters • Prints
• Mirrors •
Sandy Springs at Parks ide
256-1280
5320 ‘Rffswdl %d„ 9fW
$30.00 OFF
ANY CUSTOM FRAMING
OF $100.00 OR MORE
Coupon Must Be Presented With Order.
One Coupon Per Order. Expires 1/31/91
Fools & Fountains To Go
Saturday & Sunday:
Georgia Antique Center
Norcross, GA
1-85 North Access Rd between
Pleasantdale & Jimmy Carter Blvd
Just Add Water (and Fish or Plants) & Plug In
Indoor & Outdoor
Fountains
Pond Liners
Pumps
Lights
Silk Water Lillies
Pond Statuary
COASTAL FOND SUPPLY
Monday - Friday:
4419 Cowan Rd, Suite 101
Tucker, GA
(404) 496-5740