Florida Dismissal Compounds Tragedy
A Florida court dismissed Lambda Legal's lawsuit filed against Jackson Memorial Hospital in 2008 on behalf of Janice Langbehn, the Estate of Lisa Pond, and their three adopted children. In February 2007, the family was tragically kept apart by hospital staff for eight hours as Pond's condition deteriorated and she died. Surviving partner Janice Langbehn was told that she was in an antigay city and state and that she could expect to receive no information or acknowledgment as family. Lambda Legal staff Aattorney Beth Littrell says, “The court’s decision paints a tragically stark picture of how vulnerable same-sex couples and their families are during times of crisis.” Lambda Legal has until October 16 to review the ruling with the family and consider all legal options. (The photo is of Janice and the adopted children.)
Ms. Langbehn was not allowed to be with her life partner when she died.
Such injustices occur daily in America "where everyone one has liberty and justice for all and the right to the pursuit of happiness."
A friend of mine nursed his gay partner for several years. The partner left his estate to my friend. However, the deseased's daughter, who had not spoken to her father for years, challenged the estate and was awarded everything. The courts are packed with conservative Republican judges.
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Comments: 55
This is just another example of why gays should be allowed the benefits of marriage.
"I never thought almost 20 years of love and family could be disregarded in an instant," Langbehn, the partner, said.
Yes, liberty and justice for all!
Devastating and sad~
WELL-SAID!!
THAT SUCKS!
Hugs,
Mar~
Is it wrong legally. No.
Is it wrong morally? Well, that doesn't matter in a court of law.
if people want to change the laws, they need to bring it before the people of the state for a vote, if there are enough people who want the law to change, they will make it so at the voting booth. That is how it is supposed to work in this country.
It would be nice if it were that simple. Appeals court judges make law every day. Laws are ambiguous. Conflicting precedents exist. It's up to the judge to decide. When the law isn't clear, which is a lot of the time, the judge decides. That's the way we do it in the US. Always have. The reason we have a Supreme Court is to have an end to the appeals process.
Another thing judges, especially at the highest level do, is reverse precedent. I imagine there are legal scholars who think the Supreme Court made a mistake in Brown vs. Board of Education, but not too many of them.
An appeal is supposed to be an attempt to pursuade another judge that the previous judge didn't do his job. But what ends up happening, especially in America today, is that liberals decide they want to change some law to their favor, so they find a liberal judge and try ot get him to empathize with their "cause"...more times than not, he will OVERRIDE the law, to allow them to do what they want...then because attorney's are allowed to use previous rulings on cases as "evidence", pretty soon, it becomes the "norm"...SNEAKY!
Very wrong. Courts do look at morally wrong and right when deciding cases.
I agree, a judge should do his or her job. I also think the laws need to change and I have hope that our President can do all that he can to make the United States united again.
Executive orders have been around for ever. The previous administration discovered hidden potential in signing statements.
We have a representative democracy. We elect legislators who pass laws. The executive branch has a veto power over new laws. The courts have the ability to void laws that are in conflict with the Constitution.
It's just not that simple. The Founding Fathers were not comfortable with the will of the people as the sole source of law and put all sorts of checks in place.
I agree with Marilyn THAT SUCKS big time.
He said he agreed that it sucks what happened to the couple described in Leo's article.
It is difficult to know for certain the number of Iranians executed because they are gay, as the government refuses to disclose the real reasons that lead to arrests, he said. The director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, Scott Long, said Iranians arrested on suspicion of being gay are routinely tortured.
This came from a real quick search and there are numerous stories of treatment of gays in Middle Eastern countries. The US doesn't arrest, torture and then execute people for the "crime" of being gay.
ALL couples should have the same rights. Biology does not always make a family. Your family is the group of people who love and accept you and don't try to change you, not the people who kick you out on the street when you are still a kid because they think you are a freak or an abomination.
It is not true that it is 'just a legal' thing. Sometimes, stupid people make up their own laws when they are in a position of power over someone else. I had it happen with a Dept of Insurance worker in LA when we were reviewing an insurance contract there for approval. There was no law that prohibited Domestic Partner language from being included in our contract in LA, but the DOI worker would not approve the contract because in her eyes it was an 'abomination'. If we didn't take it out, she would reject the contract. She had the power to shut down our company's business in the state. She sucked big time. We all hated her, but we had to take the language out based on her rejection. If it was just up to me, I would have told her to go to hell and brought it to the head of the DOI. Chances are, he/she would have told us the same thing, knowing the idiocy of people in LA.
Anybody who saw this should have been brave enough to allow that woman in to say good-bye to her love. What kind of people would just blame the "law" for being a damn sadist?
I would have risked my job to let her in. There are plenty of places where decent people can practice empathy without being afraid of the law.
There should be massive insurance reform in all areas, including having Fed laws and abolishing state DOI's. It's like little feifdoms...led by bitter, underpaid, crappy-minded people. California and New York are the absolute worst due to their laws and processes. Sometimes it takes years for a contract to be approved in those two states. Most times, companies will not even update and refile because of cost in CA and NY...you miss out on some good changes.
Of course, when Bush came into office, that gave everyone license to make their won rules, like that witch in LA. The 'christian right' thought they had died and gone to freakin' heaven.
I understand how stupid she was.
*slaps head
*viscous liquid drips from ears
And, yes, MA should be proud to be the first. And now my state of CT is also on that list, thank goodness.
This sucks. The workers in the hospital suck. The laws suck. People who support anti-gay laws suck. People who are anti-gay suck. I hope they all get sucked into some big, black hole somewhere someday and disappear.
Ditto
renewedactivist.gather.comthe renewed actovost
Thank you for sharing with us
If it had been a facility that I worked at I would have found a way to get her in to be with her partner...
"Other than one five minute visit that was arranged by a Catholic priest at Janice's request to perform last rites, and despite the doctor's acknowledgement that no medical reason existed to prevent visitation, neither Janice — who provided the hospital with a medical Power of Attorney document — nor their children were allowed to see Lisa until nearly eight hours after their arrival. Soon after Lisa's death, Janice tried to get her death certificate in order to get life insurance and Social Security benefits for their children. She was denied both by the State of Florida and the Dade County Medical Examiner."
They need to follow-up on this based on the fact that Janice had 'Medical Power of Attorney'
giving her the legal right to make decisions regarding her partner's medical care!!!
Stopping by to say hi , I am sorry for a comment like this but I am just trying to catch up with everyone. Here's 10 for you!