Lt Hester draws international attention

by: Juan Melli

Sun Nov 27, 2005 at 09:06:07 PM EST

Across the pond, the UK Gay News is covering Lt Laurel Hester's situation:

How this situation â€“ and the thousands of others that go unnoticed â€“ can arise in the United States puzzles us at UK Gay News. America proclaims itself as the leader of the world. But when it comes for basic rights of same-sex couples living in a long-term relationship, the country is probably in the bottom quartile.
The old chestnut about family values and sanctity of marriage just does not wash. America has one of the highest divorce rates in the world and is where a pop star can get married for the weekend.
The word â€œhumbugâ€ comes to mind. And is this instance it applies to the Freeholders of Ocean County

Meanwhile, an editorial in today's Ocean County Observer slams the OC freeholder's hypocricy:

Never mind that the freeholders have demonstrated stupendous greed through their own history of feeding at the public through, often in jobs that helped boost their own pensions.

Juan Melli :: Lt Hester draws international attention

Those jobs include: Joseph Vicari: Dover Township committeeman, freeholder, Brick educator, Berkeley's school superintendent; John Bartlett: Pine Beach official, educator and freeholder before taking his current post at Ocean County College; Jack Kelly: Eagleswood Township official, worked for the South Jersey Transportation Authority and as a freeholder; James Lacey: Point Pleasant Beach official, worked for the state department of Environmental Protection and served as a freeholder before being handed his current post as Beachwood's first-ever administrator; Gerry Little ran the 9th District legislative office, was a Surf City official and served as a freeholder. The editorial continues:

They all can look forward to comfortable retirements paid for by the taxpayers, yet they stand on high moral ground to deny Hester's request for similar security for her life partner.
...
Hiding behind morality and the sanctity of marriage to keep another from ensuring the family security they enjoy because they might win future elections by smaller margins is, in itself immoral.

If Ocean County's freeholders think that ignoring the media and making heartless decisions behind closed doors is going to make the attention disappear, they're sadly mistaken.