I Googled "sonoma separated gay couple." Up popped about 9,200 hits.
Their general premise is that Sonoma County is guilty of the horrific, inhumane and hateful treatment of two elderly men who were in a devoted relationship until county bureaucrats wrested them apart and sold off their possessions.
On the website of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which is mounting a campaign of outrage, director Kate Kendell calls the case of Clay Greene and the late Harold Scull "perhaps among the most tragic" in her agency's 33 years.
Powerful words.
They're stinging a lot of people in Sonoma County, certainly the ones who promote this place to travelers and tout it as notably welcoming to gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gender visitors.
"It does hurt to see Sonoma County referenced this way," said Tim Zahner of the county's Tourism Bureau after reading some of the on-line hits.
His agency has no intention of entering the debate over allegations in the Greene's lawsuit against the county. Rather, he said, "We're working on showing who the people of Sonoma County are."
We are, I believe, a people that will not accept the mistreatment of gays — and also will not conclude that such mistreatment occurred simply because a touted lawsuit and Internet campaign say it did.
Greg Spaulding, the attorney for the county, is a veteran human-rights advocate. He says that in due course it will become clear that many claims by the suit and its champions are untrue and that the heart of the matter is that county officials acted properly in response to Clay Greene's domestic abuse of Harold Scull.
I'd hope everyone would put down the stones and let the court do its job.
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