Missouri Rep. Sue Allen (R)

The Missouri legislature has allowed an anti-bullying bill (HB 134) to die, and its Republican sponsor is blaming her gay colleagues for killing it. For all of the effective anti-bullying measures Rep. Sue Allen’s bill included, it specifically banned the creation of enumerated lists of identities to protect, such as sexual orientation and gender identity. Enumerating protections has helped guarantee that anti-LGBT bullying does not go unreported, but according to Allen, they’re too “partisan”:

I typically try to keep partisanship out of my message, but this is an issue for the Democrats who wish for certain students (GLBT –gay, lesbian, bisexual, & transgender) to be “enumerated” within school policies. [...]

What “they” don’t seem to understand is that any stronger policies help ALL students, even those they would have categorized.

So….it seems some people care more about arguing points to make some students more protected when what they’ve really done is to NO better protect ANY student.

The “they” Allen refers to are openly gay lawmakers Sen. Jolie Justus (D) and Rep. Mike Colona (D), who Allen encourages her supporters to contact and blame for the bill’s failure.

Allen clearly does not understand the purpose and function of enumerating groups, calling it “discriminatory” to specify some groups for students and not others. Speaking with the Riverfront Times, she added, “Why are we always segregating?” Of course, enumerating groups does nothing of the sort; instead, it ensures that groups known to be targeted for bullying are specifically listed so that such harassment can be more easily identified. No student is excluded from a bullying policy because they don’t belong to one of the enumerated groups; instead, the groups serve to raise awareness about forms of bullying that are already problematic.

It would also be different if Allen’s bill simply did not address enumerate groups, but it specifically bans them. The only purpose for such a limitation is to ensure protections for the LGBT community are never extended. This is particularly problematic given the incredibly high rates of anti-LGBT bullying that take place in Missouri. According to GLSEN’s 2011 National School Climate Survey, 94 percent of Missouri students regularly hear homophobic language like “fag” and “dyke” at school, and 83 percent of LGBT students have experience harassment or assault for their sexual orientation. These are rates far higher than national averages.

With a bullying epidemic like that, Allen should better appreciate that enumerating protections to groups like LGBT students would actually better protect all students. Instead, she’s encouraging people to bully her gay colleagues for wanting to fix her problematic bill.

Amanda Brown has set up a legal defense fund to support her father, Roger Gorley, to challenge the Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri for using police force to separate him from his husband Allen’s hospital bedside. She explained the intent of the fund to the New Civil Rights Movement:

BROWN: We are going to use the money to fund Roger and Allen’s legal defense. Any money left over will be split among the LGBT organizations that have helped us during this traumatic injustice. We only want the hospital to apologize for what they did, re-educate their staff as to the proper procedure, educate their staff, including security, as to the current laws in place to protect individuals/ couples who identify within the LGBTQQIAA movement, and on a national level ensure every police department and medical establishment educates their staff as to what their regulations are and how they need to coincide with the current laws.

As details about the incident continue to surface, the hospital has refused to take any responsibility for its treatment of Roger Gorley, continuing instead to blame him for being disruptive, even though it was Allen’s brother, Lee, who was inappropriately trying to exert medical authority over Allen’s care. Amanda posted another update on Sunday sharing that Roger is now visiting with Allen, whose condition is improving. Still, they are worried that Allen’s family may still try to usurp medical control over him by other legal means:

Allen is quite upset that his brother acted the way he did and does NOT want his family to make legal decisions for him. He made it very clear to us and the State Health Department that he told the nurse that first night in the ER that Roger is his husband, has legal power of attorney, and didn’t want him to leave the room.

We have reason to believe his brother and sister have spoken to Social Services and are going to try and use “senior abuse” laws (even though Allen is only 46) to try and have him declared incompetent and seize my father’s right to make decisions with/for him. We will fight this… they will lose.

He’s doing well and is ready to come home. He wants to release his own statement, and will probably do a  few interviews, when he gets home and is rested. He will clear up some things for everyone and is happy that this situation, however difficult, has allowed people to have an important conversation about gay rights in this country. We appreciate everyone’s kind words and support. They have already racked up a few thousand dollars in medical bills from this (on top of having to cancel their trip to Amsterdam this week… non-refundable reservations).

More information about the family’s efforts to raise funds for their legal and medical bills is available here.

There has been a lot of speculation as to what actually transpired when Roger Gorley was arrested away from his husband Allen’s bedside in a Missouri hospital earlier this week. Despite the fact Roger and Allen have granted each other power of attorney for medical decisions, the Research Medical Center claimed that Roger was “disruptive and belligerent,” arguing that is why the police arrested him and removed him from the facility.

Now, Roger’s daughter Amanda has shared a detailed account of what transpired that paints a picture even more offensive than many may have imagined. The full account can be read here as well as some additional details she shared in an interview with blogger John Aravosis. Here is a breakdown of the family’s circumstances and what transpired in that hospital room according to Amanda:

The Couple’s Background

• Allen suffers from severe depression and is currently undergoing electro-shock treatment (ECT) twice a month because his medications are no longer allowing him to function normally.
• Allen has specifically excluded his family from having any say over his medical decisions because they have not been understanding of the impact of his depression.
• Not only have Roger and Allen granted each other power of attorney, but they are known throughout the hospital as a proud gay couple because they are regularly there for Allen’s treatments.
• Allen’s family has not been supportive of his relationship with Roger.

How Allen Was Admitted On Tuesday

• Amanda was taking care of Allen while Roger was at work at Tuesday, but when they returned home from a few errands, Allen’s brother Lee and sister Pat were waiting at the door with paramedics and police.
• Due to Allen’s sluggish state, the police determined he was a “danger to himself” and decided to take him to the hospital against his will. Rather than taking him to St. Luke’s Hospital in Lee’s Summit, the local hospital where his regular doctors are, they took him to the Research Medical Center in Kansas City, which he only goes to for his ECT. They ignored Amanda’s attempts to explain Allen’s medical needs and procedures.
• Amanda called her father, Roger, and urged him to get to Allen’s side immediately. When he arrived at the hospital, Lee was also there.

The Family Confrontation

• Lee asserted that he was not going to allow Roger to make decisions for Allen and that he would instead. This enraged Roger, who replied, “No you won’t! This is my husband.  I know what he wants and needs. You are never around.  You need to leave.”
• The nurse informed Roger that because of his agitated state, he needed to leave. When he explained that he intended to stay with his husband, she replied, “I know who you two are. You need to leave.” Refusing to acknowledge their legal relationship, she called the police to have Roger forcibly removed.
• Allen, who was in and out of consciousness, objected as he was able, saying, “I want him here.”
• A follow-up story from Fox 4 suggests that Roger and Lee were having a loud fight, but doesn’t otherwise contradict this account.

Read more

If ever there were a perfect example of how basic legal contracts are an inferior alternative to the benefits of marriage for same-sex couples, this heartbreaking story is it. Missouri resident Roger Gorley was staying by the hospital bedside of his partner Allen, with whom he’s been in a civil union for nearly five years — though it is not recognized in Missouri — and with whom he also shares power of attorney. When one of Allen’s family members asked him to leave and he refused, a security official at the Research Medical Center arrested him, removed him from the premises, and issued a restraining order preventing him from visiting his partner.

Gorley explained to Fox4 that the nurses were not even willing to verify their power of attorney, despite the fact the couple has visited the hospital multiple times:

GORLEY: I was not recognized as being the husband, I wasn’t recognized as being the partner… She didn’t even bother to go look it up, to check into it… All we want is equal rights.

In 2010, President Obama issued a memorandum establishing a rule preventing hospitals from denying visitation privileges to same-sex partners, but Gorley’s story demonstrates how easily disregarded that protection is in the absence of marriage equality. The Kansas City-based Research Medical Center issued the following statement defending its actions:

We believe involving the family is an important part of the patient care process. And, the patient`s needs are always our first priority. When anyone becomes disruptive to providing the necessary patient care, we involve our security team to help calm the situation and to protect our patients and staff. If the situation continues to escalate, we have no choice but to request police assistance.

Nothing in the Missouri law granting power of attorney rights suggests that a family member can trump the power of attorney granted to a non-relative. However, this passage does seem to suggest room for a facility to attempt to justify such discrimination:

No hospital, nursing facility, residential care facility, or other health care facility shall be required to honor a health care decision of an attorney in fact if that decision is contrary to the hospital’s or facility’s institutional policy based on religious beliefs or sincerely held moral convictions unless the hospital or facility received a copy of the durable power of attorney for health care prior to commencing the current series of treatments or current confinement.

In other words, if Gorley did not have the piece of paper granting him power of attorney on hand before treatment of his partner began, the hospital could argue that it refuses to recognize same-sex partners based on religious beliefs or  ”moral convictions.” The Research Medical Center does not have a religious affiliation and claims not to discriminate based on sexual orientation, but denying a patient access to the individual entrusted with his medical decisions appears to be a fairly egregious violation.

In a second statement on its Facebook page, the hospital claimed that the partner’s behavior was “disruptive and belligerent” and clarifying that there is no restraining order:

We appreciate your concern and would like to assure you that Research Medical Center puts the care of our patients as our #1 priority regardless of sexual orientation. We support all the communities we serve. We have a long history of commitment to a culture of diversity. Research Medical Center was one of the first hospitals in Kansas City to offer domestic partner benefits, which have been in place since 2005, and we have had a policy specifically acknowledging domestic partners’ visitation rights in place for years.

This was an issue of disruptive and belligerent behavior by the visitor that affected patient care. The hospital’s response followed the same policies that would apply to any individual engaged in this behavior in a patient care setting and was not in any way related to the patient’s or the visitor’s sexual orientation or marital status. This visitor created a barrier for us to care for the patient. Attempts were made to deescalate the situation. Unfortunately, we had no choice but to involve security and the Kansas City MO Police Department.

We would also like to correct the misinformation about a restraining order. There was no issue of a restraining order by the hospital.

A Change.org petition is calling on the Obama administration to pull Medicare and Medicaid funding from the hospital in accordance with the nondiscrimination rule, and Federal officials said they were “aware” of the situation and are looking to collect facts and take the appropriate steps “in a speedy manner.”