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Archive Version of
Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples Online from 1995-2022 Demian and Steve Bryant originally founded Partners as a monthly newsletter in 1986. By late 1990 it was reformatted into a bi-monthly magazine. Print publication was halted by 1995 when Demian published Partners as a Web site, which greatly expanded readership. In 1988, the Partners National Survey of Lesbian & Gay Couples report was published; the first major U.S. survey on same-sex couples in a decade. In 1996, Demian produced The Right to Marry, a video documentary based on the dire need for equality that was made clear by the data from the survey mentioned above. The video featured interviews with Rev. Mel White, Evan Wolfson, Phyllis Burke, Richard Mohr, Kevin Cathcart, Faygele benMiriam, Benjamin Cable-McCarthy, Susan Reardon, Frances Fuchs, Tina Podlodowski, and Chelle Mileur. Demian has been the sole operator during the last two decades of Partners. Demian stopped work on Partners Task Force in order to realize his other time-consuming projects, which include publishing the book “Operating Manual for Same-Sex Couples: Navigating the rules, rites & rights” - which is now available on Amazon. The book is based on the Partners Survey mentioned above, his interviews of scores of couples, and 36 years of writing hundreds of articles about same-sex couples. It’s also been informed by his personal experience in a 20-year, same-sex relationship. Demian’s other project is to publish his “Photo Stories by Demian” books based on his more than six decades as a photographer and writer. |
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Medical Emergency Cards © 2003, Demian No matter how long or how committed you and your partner are, you can be (and often are) treated as legal strangers. Should your partner or you be rendered unconscious in an emergency, you would be legally barred from making any medical decisions for each other. You could also be barred from the hospital or even being informed of the patient’s conditions. Print this page, cut out this “Medical Alert” form for your wallet.
For six, pre-printed Medical Emergency Cards — which you can fill out — send Partners a self-addressed, first-class-stamped envelope. How you can prepare for emergencies. We recommend that gay men and lesbians in committed relationships prepare for emergencies by carrying a card that identifies their partner. Medical emergency teams typically search trauma patients for information on emergency contacts, and same-sex couples need to make explicit their partner’s role in handling an emergency. Attorneys widely recommend that partners also assign each other durable powers of attorney for health care. Using this type of legal document, you can grant your partner the right to make health care decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. Without it, your partner would likely play no role in important medical decisions, and might even be prevented from visiting you in the hospital. A medical emergency card doesn’t replace the power of attorney. Rather, it directs health care workers to alert your partner (or another individual), who can then invoke the authority to act on your behalf. It is a sensible precaution to carry reduced-size photocopies of the durable power of attorney form in your wallet or car. Only a signed original has the power of law, so be sure the photocopies are signed and notarized. Protect them from damage, e.g. by keeping them in a sealed sandwich baggie. All states recognize powers of attorney, though laws differ in details. In some states, you can also use the document to stipulate the type of care you will permit if you become incapacitated. You will need to use a state-specific legal form if you live in California, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia or Wisconsin. In any event, we recommend that you consult a gay/lesbian-friendly family law attorney for specific information and counsel. We can only provide general information, which should not be regarded as legal advice. An attorney also can advise you on other legal precautions, such as wills and relationship agreements.
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© 2022, Demian None of the pages on this Web site may be reproduced by any form of reproduction without permission from Partners, with the exception of copies for personal, student, and non-commercial use. Please do not copy this article to any Web site. Links to this page are welcome. |