TOMS RIVER, December 7, 2005  –  The tragic case of the dying police officer, who has had her request that her lesbian ‘life partner’ be allowed to receive her pension rights turned down last month by county Freeholders, took a macabre turn this evening as the elected Freeholders stormed out of their meeting.

Over a hundred members of the public were present in a bid to get the five Freeholders to reverse their decision and allow the pension of Lt. Laurel Hester, who has served the local police for almost 25 years, to be left to her same-sex partner Stacie Andree – which is permitted in New Jersey law, but not required for local authorities.

Among the public were a number of police officers, representatives from women’s groups, gay and lesbian organizations and members of the clergy, including Lutheran, Unitarian and Methodist ministers.  For 90 minutes they tried to convince the five Republican Freeholders to change their minds.

One of the most impassioned pleas came from Dane Wells, a former colleague of Lt. Hester.

“We’ve all been hearing a lot of things about all this,” he said, addressing the Freeholders.  “We’ve heard about domestic partner rights, we’ve heard about the sanctity of marriage, we’ve heard about dollars, and we’ve heard about morality.

“But all of this is only about one thing and one thing only – it’s about nothing more and nothing less than equal rights for all Americans.  What we are talking about here today is no different than separate drinking fountains or a seat in the back of the bus.

“What we are talking about is not singling out and discriminating against an individual or social segment because we perceive them to be somehow different or inferior.  We already have much too much of that sort of hate in our history.  Let’s not add to it here in Ocean County.”

The clergy also spoke with passion, citing scripture about compassion and justice for fellow man.  All made strong Biblical arguments in favour of granting the request of Lt. Hester.

One petitioner even kneeled down in front of the Freeholders begging them to relent on the issue.

In all, some 20 people addressed the Freeholders, many of them ‘ordinary citizens’ showing deep concern at the decision.  They spoke of their “outrage” at the Freeholders’ “disgusting heartlessness”.

Dissatisfaction was voiced that there had been no public debate on the issue and, as one speaker put it, the cowardly manner that the Freeholders had tried to ignore the matter.

Responding, Freeholder director Joseph Vicari said that the issue belongs in the State Legislature and not with the counties.  But it was pointed out by the public that it was indeed a decision for the Freeholders to make.

At this stage, the meeting came to an abrupt end, with the Freeholders storming out of the meeting through a rear door in an attempt to hide from the waiting media.

“Gentlemen, you have in your hands right here and right now the awesome power to decide whether Laurel Hester will die a peaceful death,” Mr. Wells had earlier told the Freeholders. 

The statement appears to have fallen on deaf ears tonight.

NEW JERSEY NEWSPAPER COVERAGE

■  A New Jersey gay activist group wants people to boycott Ocean County's chief industry, tourism, because the Board of Freeholders won't permit a veteran, dying police officer to will her pension benefits to her domestic partner. Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, pleaded with the board at Wednesday night's meeting on behalf of Lt. Laurel Hester, who is dying of metastasized lung cancer.

“I beg you, beg you with all my heart” to pass a resolution allowing the domestic partner benefits, he said. – Asbury Park Press

■  The Ocean County freeholders should drop their opposition to extending domestic-partnership benefits to county employees. This would finally allow a county Prosecutor's Office investigator dying of lung cancer to pass along her pension benefits to her domestic partner. – Editorial – Asbury Park Press (December 9, 2005)

■  “You have everything to lose. I have nothing to lose,” a dying Lt. Laurel Hester told supporters who failed again last night to convince Ocean County's freeholders to implement the Domestic Partnership Act and give her partner, Stacie Andree, the right to inherit the pension rights she earned after 24 years as a cop with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. – Ocean County Observer

■  Among those who spoke was Dick Chinery, a former chief investigator for the Prosecutor's Office who was Hester's longtime supervisor. He spoke highly of her dedication to her job over the years, calling her “a wonderful girl.”

“Please do something for her. She spent 20-some years protecting the citizens of Ocean County,” Chinery said. – The Press of Atlantic City.

Humanity Missing in County Decision.  Letter to the Editor of Asbury Park Press (December 7, 2005) from John P. Evans.

PREVIOUS UK GAY NEWS COVERAGE:

 Straight Man Appeals for Justice for Dying Lesbian Cop.  Commentary.  Dane Wells, who describes himself as a “run-of-the-mill, middle-aged straight guy”, is not very happy with the movers and shakers of his local community, Ocean County in New Jersey.  The retired policeman is angry because Ocean County will not extend “domestic partner benefits” to a former colleague, Lt. Laurel Hester, who is terminally ill with lung cancer - and is gay. (UK Gay News, November 26, 2005)

Laurel’s Legacy: A Quest for Gay Justice in New Jersey, by Dane Wells.  For nearly half a century now, I have been proud to call myself an Ocean County native.  Among the many highlights of my life have been the years I spent in law enforcement with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, where I worked alongside Lt. Laurel Hester. (UK Gay News, November 26, 2005)

LINK

New Jersey Department of the Treasury Division of Pensions and Benefits. Chapter 246, P.L. 2003, the Domestic Partnership Act, establishes certain rights and responsibilities for domestic partners in the State of New Jersey. The law also extends public pension and State Health Benefits Program (SHBP) benefits to same-sex domestic partners of State employees and retirees and permits local governmental employers to extend those same domestic partner benefits to their employees and retirees.