Laurel Hester Police Officer:
Laurel Hester was a police officer in New Jersey for 23 years when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.Laurel Hester's Fight :
In addition to fighting cancer, Laurel Hester had another battle on her hands. She wanted to ensure that her partner Stacie would receive her pension when she died. The Ocean County Freeholders, the elected officials who control the police force refused to allow Laurel to leave her pension to Stacie, a right that is automatically given to heterosexual married couples.Laurel & Stacie:
Laurel and Stacie were together for six years and registered as domestic partners. Under the pension rules, domestic partners could only receive pension benefits with approval of the county freeholders.Outrage of a Community:
The Policemen's Benefit Association and much of the community supported Laurel Hester's fight for justice. One of the freeholders argued that awarding Laurel's pension to Stacie would threaten the sanctity of marriage. 200 people showed up to protest the freeholders actions. After her story was reported in the media, the freeholders were besieged with emails and phone calls from outraged citizens.Laurel's Final Plea:
Laurel did not give up. She videotaped a plea that was shown to the freeholders on January 18, 2006. Two days later the freeholders announced they were reversing their decision and would allow pension benefits to be awarded to registered domestic partners. Laurel died on February 18, 2006 at age 49. Stacie was at her side.Academy Award:
Freeheld, a film about Laurel Hester won the Oscar for Best Short Documentary at the Academy Awards on Feb. 24th, 2008. Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth were the filmmakers. Laurel's partner Stacie was in attendance.Laurel Hester in her Own Words:
"I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me or said on the phone, ‘I’m so inspired by your courage.’ I want to make a difference and I want people to be affected by the things that I’ve said and
what I’ve done, and I want them to realize that they can do it too. There’s nothing extraordinary about me. I’m not a super person…I just went about doing things the way I think they should be done."
Source: Freeheld.com
