The film opens at a meeting of the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Ocean County, New Jersey. Ocean County resident and New Jersey police officer Lieutenant Laurel Hester has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and expected to live only another year, she wishes to pass on her pension to her domestic partner of five years, Stacie Andree. Although New Jersey counties have the option to extend pension benefits to domestic partners, Ocean County Freeholders will not do this. In protest, the state's LGBT civil rights organization, Garden State Equality, organizes hundreds of people to speak out at each of the Freeholders' meetings. The crowds Garden State Equality organizes get bigger and more vociferous at each meeting.
Among those speaking out are Laurel's police colleagues and Ocean County residents, describing Laurel's 25 years of exemplary work for the police department, and petitioning the Freeholders to allow her to pass on her pension to Stacie. Laurel's first police partner, Dane Wells, speaks about her and compares the situation to separate drinking fountains and seats at the back of the bus. Freeholder Joseph Vicari says that although they are "anguished" by Laurel's case, they are unable to change things because of the state legislature and moves for an adjournment. The members of the public present are unhappy with this decision and some begin to chant "It's in your power".
Outside the administration building, news reporter Ida Siegal explains the background to the case. In 2004 New Jersey passed the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act which allows all gay and lesbian state employees to pass on their benefits, including the pension, to their domestic partners. According to Siegal, all New Jersey counties can choose whether or not to allow their employees to pass on benefits to their partners. Ocean County Freeholders have decided against this.
Don Bennett, a reporter for the Ocean County Observer says that every time he talked to the Freeholders, they had a different excuse for not moving forward. Margaret Bonafide of the Asbury Park Press says that while Freeholder John Bartlett had said that such a benefit would have had to have been negotiated in union contract, Freeholder John Kelly had said that giving pension benefits to domestic partners would violate the sanctity of marriage.
Stacie says that the home she and Laurel have made together is more than just a house to them, and that she would like to keep it following Laurel's death. As an auto mechanic, Stacie does not earn much money and would be unlikely to be able to afford to keep the house without the pension. Laurel and Stacie are also struggling to pay doctors' bills for Laurel's treatment. Laurel says that if they were a heterosexual couple there would be no problem with Stacie receiving the pension. With not long to live, Laurel says that her only priority is spending time with Stacie and obtaining justice for her.
Dane Wells and former police chief Dick Chinery recall Laurel's work as a police officer, remembering her as an excellent marksman and a courageous officer. Wells describes her as the best partner he ever had. Describing himself as conservative, who votes for the Republican Party, Wells says that he had never paid particular attention to social issues or gay rights. Now he was working as hard as he could to help Laurel obtain justice before her death. When she first joined the police, Laurel's police chief and prosecutor knew that she was gay, but made it clear that she should keep that fact to herself. She was happy with that, wanting simply to focus on being the best detective she could be.
The day after the Freeholders' meeting, Laurel goes to hospital, and as a result of an MRI scan is told that the cancer has spread to her brain.[5] Stacie spends time arranging payment plans for the medical bills, and praying for Laurel. As a result of chemotherapy, Laurel's hair begins to fall out. Stacie shaves Laurel's head for her and Laurel returns the favor, saying that Stacie now looks more like she did when the couple first met.
Six New Jersey counties make the decision to extend pension benefits to domestic partners. Don Bennett says that the Ocean County Freeholders are now under increasing pressure from the press and cannot come up with a good reason for their refusal to do likewise. Although the Freeholders attribute their decision to financial reasons, Dane Wells believes that one or two of the board oppose change, and that the other board members are backing them up. He says that John Kelly has said that his personal belief is that the change would violate the sanctity of marriage, but that this is not the official position of the Freeholders.
Laurel grows increasingly sick, losing all of her hair and finding it more difficult to breathe. She speaks of the difficulty of experiencing the physical changes of her illness and knowing that she will only ever get worse. When another Freeholder meeting is held, she is too sick too attend, so she videotapes a message instead. In the tape, she asks the Freeholders to sign the resolution and make a change "for good and righteousness". At the meeting the Freeholder's say that although Laurel has been a valuable employee, they will not allow her to pass on her pension. They say that although they have the money to do so, they will not pay pensions in the absence of a negotiated contract. John Kelly says that he has been misquoted in the press and that although it is a moral issue, he believes that Laurel is a moral person. When Dane Wells ask if they intend to change their minds before Laurel dies, the Freeholders decline to answer the question.
Laurel is visited at home by a hospice worker. She says that her symptoms have gotten worse, that they scare her and that she is very concerned with when she will die. When the hospice worker asks her what is most important, Laurel answers "Stacie".
Under mounting pressure, and following a telephone call from GovernorJon Corzine at the urging of Garden State Equality, the Freeholders call an emergency meeting. Stacie and Laurel, now in a wheelchair, attend the meeting. Freeholder Bartlett says that it is time to change the situation. The Freeholder of the county makes a motion to pass a resolution to expand pension benefits to county employees under the provisions of the law. The four Freeholders present agree. John Kelly does not attend the meeting. Laurel speaks briefly to news reporters and receives a standing ovation from the people present, including the Freeholders.
Laurel goes home to die and the final scene of the film shows her memorial service, attended by Stacie, Dane and her police colleagues. Nine months after her death, the New Jersey Supreme Court rules that same sex couples must have the same rights as heterosexual couples, forcing the state legislature to legalise civil unions in New Jersey.
In May 2010, it was announced that Endgame Entertainment was developing a drama based on the documentary.[14] It was released in 2015 with a script by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Peter Sollett. Julianne Moore and Elliot Page play Laurel and Stacie. Steve Carell plays Steven Goldstein.[15]
Related Research Articles
Point Pleasant is a borough situated on the Jersey Shore, in northern Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 18,941, an increase of 549 (+3.0%) from the 2010 census count of 18,392, which in turn reflected a decline of 914 (−4.7%) from the 19,306 counted at 2000 census.
In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the board of county commissioners serves as the county legislature. In the remaining counties, the board of county commissioners exercises both executive and legislative functions, often with an appointed county administrator or manager overseeing the day-to-day operations of county government.
Valerie Vainieri Huttle is an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly where she represented the 37th Legislative District, from 2006 to 2022. Huttle served on the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 2001 through 2006.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2006.
Laurel Anne Hester was a police lieutenant with the Ocean County, New Jersey Prosecutor's Office, who came to national attention with her deathbed appeal for the extension of pension benefits to her domestic partner. Her battle was shown in Freeheld (2007), the winner of the Academy Award for Best Short Documentary, and the feature film of the same name (2015), in which Hester is portrayed by Julianne Moore.
Jeffrey Gordon Adachi was an American attorney, pension reform advocate, and politician who served as the Public Defender of San Francisco from 2003 to 2019.
Rose Troche is an American film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter.
Elizabeth Freya Garbus is an American documentary film director and producer. Notable documentaries Garbus has made are The Farm: Angola, USA,Ghosts of Abu Ghraib,Bobby Fischer Against the World,Love, Marilyn,What Happened, Miss Simone?, and Becoming Cousteau. She is co-founder and co-director of the New York City-based documentary film production company Story Syndicate.
Ava Marie DuVernay is an American filmmaker. She is a recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a NAACP Image Award, a BAFTA Film Award and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee of an Academy Award and Golden Globe.
Kelly Maria Ripa is an American actress and talk show host. Since 2001, she has been the co-host of the syndicated morning talk show Live! with Kelly and Mark in various formats.
Cynthia Wade is an American television, commercial and film director, producer and cinematographer based in New York City. She has directed documentaries on social issues including Shelter Dogs in 2003 about animal welfare and Freeheld in 2007 about LGBT rights as well as television commercials and web campaigns. She has won over 40 film festival awards, won an Oscar in 2008, and was nominated for her second Oscar in 2013.
Rachel Grady is an American documentary filmmaker.
Ruthie Berman and Connie Kurtz were American LGBT rights activists. As a couple, they successfully sued the New York City Board of Education for domestic partner benefits, winning such benefits for all New York City employees in 1994.
Freeheld is a 2015 American drama film directed by Peter Sollett and written by Ron Nyswaner. The film stars Julianne Moore, Elliot Page, Michael Shannon, Steve Carell, and Luke Grimes. It is based on the 2007 documentary short film of the same name about police officer Laurel Hester's fight against the Ocean County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders to allow her pension benefits to be transferred to her domestic partner after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Virginia E. "Ginny" Haines is an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey who serves on the Ocean County Board of County Commissioners. She had served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1992 to 1994 and had been appointed to head the New Jersey Lottery from 1994 to 2002.
Cassie Jaye is an American film director, best known for directing the 2016 documentary film The Red Pill about the men's rights movement.
Serena DiMaso is an American Republican Party politician who represented the 13th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2018 to 2022. She replaced Declan O'Scanlon, who ran successfully for a seat in the New Jersey Senate. DiMaso had previously served on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders and as mayor of Holmdel Township. In June 2021, DiMaso lost the Republican Primary to Holmdel Board of Education President Vicky Flynn. DiMaso left office in January 2022.
Britnee N. Timberlake is an American Democratic Party elected official, community advocate, nonprofit executive, and humanitarian. In November 2023, she was elected to serve the 34th Legislative District in the NJ State Senate. Once sworn in January 2024, she will be New Jersey's youngest State Senator. Timberlake has represented the 34th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since January 29, 2018, when she was sworn in to replace Sheila Oliver, who took office as Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey. Timberlake had served as Freeholder President of the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, where she was at the time the state's only African-American woman to serve as a freeholder board leader.
Miami has one of the largest and most prominent LGBTQ communities in the United States. Miami has had a gay nightlife scene as early as the 1930s. Miami has a current status as a gay mecca that attracts more than 1 million LGBT visitors a year. The Miami area as a whole has been gay-friendly for decades and is one of the few places where the LGBTQ community has its own chamber of commerce, the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC). As of 2005, Miami was home to an estimated 15,277 self-identifying gay and bisexual individuals. The Miami metropolitan area had an estimated 183,346 self-identifying LGBT residents.
Impact Partners is an American film production and television production company founded in 2007, by Dan Cogan and Geralyn Dreyfous. The company primarily produces documentary films focusing on social issues.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
