Gay Man Escorted Out of Missouri Hospital in Handcuffs for Refusing to Leave Sick Partner's Side
Making matters worse, Roger Gorley says he now has a restraining order preventing him from visiting his partner at all.
The Lee's Summit, Missouri resident says he was at Research Medical Center in Kansas City visiting his partner Allen when he was asked to leave by a member of Allen's family.
Gorley refused to budge, which prompted the hospital to have security forcibly remove him from the building in handcuffs.
Gorley says that, in addition to having been in a civil union for the past five years, he and Allen also share joint powers of attorney over each others medical affairs, which the nurse on site refused to confirm.
"I was not recognized as being the husband, I wasn't recognized as being the partner," Gorley told a local Fox affiliate.
Missouri law does not explicitly protect it citizens from being discriminated against based on their sexual orientation.
Nonetheless, Research Medical Center insisted in a statement that it does not discriminate based on sexual orientation or race (though there was no mention of gender or disability):
We believe involving the family is an important part of the patient care process," the hospital said in a statement. "And, the patient`s needs are always our first priority. When anyone becomes disruptive to providing the necessary patient care, we involve our security team to help calm the situation and to protect our patients and staff. If the situation continues to escalate, we have no choice but to request police assistance.
Joe My God notes that President Obama issued a memorandum in 2010 ordering hospitals that receive federal funding to grant same-sex partners full visitation rights.
Gorley says he plans to challege the restraining order.
