No Words

Please see this link prior to reading the rest of this post.

There are no words for how horrible this story is. It is ridiculous that a county judge can decide who is or is not a family. These gentlemen jumped through all of the ridiculous (but necessary) hoops in order to be considered each other's legal partner, and yet, a simple court order was enough to strip them of their rights and all of their worldly possessions. Not only did they lose everything, but more importantly, they lost each other when both of them were confined to separate nursing homes against their will. If they had been legally able to call each other "husband," this never could have happened. Regardless of religious beliefs, which are supposed to be kept quite separate from legalities, these men should have been granted their legal rights as partners who were together for 20+ years and considered themselves spouses. Clay should have been allowed to see Harold in the hospital. Harold and Clay both should have been able to decide if they wanted to enter a nursing home or not. They should have been allowed to decide that together, as a couple.

It is sickening to me that such basic human rights, like loving and being with whomever you wish, is denied to anyone.