Officials in
Ocean County, N.J., have again rejected the request by a
lesbian police lieutenant to secure benefits for her
partner. Laurel Hester has only a few weeks to live
and pleaded her case via video on Wednesday, but that
still didn't persuade officials to approve a
resolution allowing county employees to pass on their
pension benefits to domestic partners, The New York Times reported.
During the monthly meeting of county officials,
the wood-paneled room was filled with Hester's
supporters, including clergymen, veterans, and police
officers, the newspaper reported. Steven Goldstein, chairman
of New Jersey gay rights group Garden State
Equality, played the videotape of Hester.
The room was silent as the 49-year-old told
officials, "I've been diagnosed with several
brain tumors, hence the loss of hair," she said. "In
addition, it has spread elsewhere."
Hester, according to the Times, told the
room that she wants her domestic partner, Stacie
Andree, 30, to be able to collect her pension benefits
so that Andree can afford to keep the house the couple
bought a few years ago. "All I'm asking for is that you
sign the resolution and that you make a change," Hester said
in the video, wheezing, "a change for good, a change
for righteousness, and a change in the lives of so
many people that have dedicated themselves to county government."
The officials tried to defend their reasons for
not extending the benefits. These included high
costs or the fact that the law was "unfair" because it
did not provide for siblings or other relatives who
were not married to each other to share benefits. They were
shouted down by the crowd, who chanted, "You have the
power, you have the power," according to the newspaper.
George Farrugia, president of the Gay Officers
Action League, told officials, "Six other counties
have shown that you have the power to act. Your
inaction is reprehensible." (Advocate.com)