I am interested in hearing a perspective from the gays on here.
http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2014/04/legal_fight_over_dead_gay_mans.html#incart_2boxLegal fight over dead gay man's estate: his mom, 75, vs. his husband
Paul Hard, right, talks with Southern Poverty Law Center attorneys David Dinielli, left, and Sam Wolfe outside the federal courthouse in Montgomery, Ala., on Feb. 13, 2014. (Mike Cason/mcason@al.com)
The Foundation for Moral Law in Montgomery has announced that it is now representing the mother of a gay man who is fighting for her son's property rights - against his husband.
Under Alabama law all of the potential damages collected in a wrongful death action legally pass to David Fancher’s next of kin, the Foundation says. The next of kin is David’s only surviving parent, his 75 year old mother, Pat Fancher, the Foundation for Moral Law said. On December 16, 2013 Dr. Paul Hard filed in the federal district court of Montgomery, Alabama requesting the court prevent Ms. Fancher from receiving the funds that will stem from the wrongful death action. Dr. Hard claims that he is entitled to well over half of the funds because of his Massachusetts marriage to David that occurred less than three months before David’s death.
When Ms. Fancher learned that Dr. Hard sought to accomplish his goal by overturning Alabama’s Constitutional marriage amendment she became concerned, the Foundation for Moral Law said. "Ms. Fancher contacted us here at the Foundation for Moral Law and expressed that she does not want the death of her son being used by certain special interest organizations as a means to promote homosexual marriage by striking down Alabama’s Constitutional Marriage Amendment," the Foundation said in a statement released to media. "We are humbled to represent Ms. Fancher as her legal counsel in this matter. We filed a motion to intervene alongside the Attorney General’s office as a party in Hard v. Bentley and we are pleased to announce that motion was granted Monday, March 31 of this week."
Hard, who married David Fancher in Massachusetts, filed suit to challenge Alabama's law prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states.
David Fancher was killed in a car crash north of Montgomery after his marriage to Hard. The accident led to a wrongful death case.
The Alabama law prevents Hard from sharing in any proceeds from that case, according to lawyers with the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is representing Hard.
Hard’s lawsuit seeks recognition of his marriage under the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the U.S. Constitution. His case seeks to invalidate parts of Alabama’s Marriage Protection Act and Sanctity of Marriage Amendment.
Gay marriage bans face court challenges in other southern states, as well.
Hard said hospital workers refused to provide him any information about Fancher's condition after the accident. A receptionist told him that he was not a member of Fancher's family and that gay marriages were not recognized in Alabama. Hard learned from a hospital orderly that Fancher had died after about a half-hour of trying to get information.
A funeral home director later insisted that Fancher's death certificate indicate Fancher was never married, citing state law.
"If I can spare one other person that kind of indigity and hurt, I would do it," Hard said after filing his lawsuit. "If I can let people know how this law unjustly and cruelly affects people, I will do it. And ultimately I hope that these laws are overturned so that it now longer can give folks permission to treat Americans as second-class citizens."
Hard, 55, who teaches counseling and psychotherapy at Auburn University Montgomery, is also seeking to have Fancher's death certificate changed to say that he was married.
Fancher, who was 53 when he died, was an information technology director at a trucking company in Birmingham.
They were married in May 2011, and the fatal accident happened during the night of Aug. 1, 2011. Fancher's car struck an overturned UPS truck blocking the northbound lanes of Interstate 65, according to Hard's lawsuit.
The wrongful death case was filed by the administrator of Fancher's estate. It is pending in federal court in Montgomery. Hard is not a party in that case. If Hard prevails in his lawsuit, he would be entitled to proceeds from that case.
Named as defendants in Hard's case are Gov. Robert Bentley, Attorney General Luther Strange and other officials, as well as the administrator of Fancher's estate.
The Foundation for Moral Law said in its statement that Ms. Fancher has recently undergone hip surgery, but she released a statement: “I am a devout Christian and I am deeply disturbed that the death of my son David is being used by Dr. Paul Hard to advance the cause of same-sex marriage. I did not agree with all of the decisions that my son made, but I loved him very much and we always had a good relationship. It is wrong for David’s death to be used in this manner.â€
The Foundation for Moral Law added: "We here at the Foundation agree with Ms. Fancher. Ms. Fancher and the majority of Alabamians, believe marriage is an institution established by God for the governance of the most basic unit of society, the family, and this institution is intended to be between one man and one woman. The Foundation will protect not only Ms. Fancher’s beliefs and interests, but also the right of Alabama citizens to preserve the traditional definition of marriage."
The Foundation for Moral Law was co-founded by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who is president emeritus of the foundation. His wife, Kayla Moore, serves as president.
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