Batesville Daily Guard, Arkansas Paper, Omits Gay Man's Partner From Obituary

The Batesville Daily Guard, an Arkansas newspaper, has come under fire after it excluded a gay man's partner of ten years from his obituary.

John Christopher Millican died earlier this month of spinal meningitis. His partner, Terrance James, was the only person with him when he died and made the decision to end life support.

From Queerty:

Wrought with grief, Mr. James filled out the paperwork for his late partner’s obituary for the local publication, the Batesville Guard. When the obituary ran, however, it listed the names of Millican’s deceased parents, his siblings, with whom he had little contact, but no mention of Terrance James or even that there was a surviving partner.

Pat Jones, the general manager of the Batesville Daily Guard, told Queerty: “It’s not a gay thing. We don’t list unmarried couples, in-laws, or pets in the free obituaries.”

Oscar Jones, an attorney whose family has run the paper for over 80 years, told KARK-4 that the paper's obituary policy has always been only to include in its free obituaries the names of legally recognized spouses. Arkansas only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman.

Oscar Jones conceded, however, that the paper's policy "should be reviewed."

The Center for Artistic Revolution, an LGBTQ equal rights organization in Little Rock that has called for the paper to change its policy, notes that the Batesville Daily Guard was the local paper that covered the story of Clint McCance, the Arkansas School Board member who last fall made headlines when he wrote on his Facebook page that he wanted "fags" to commit suicide.

Comments

[flowerchild44]

10:17 PM on 07/06/2011

As a Batesville resident, I am NOT proud. There is a church on every corner, it is a dry county, we claim we are a city that is one of the best small towns in America. Reality! LOTS of alcoholism....LOTS. There is a huge amount of Meth here as well. No jobs and no industry. I can not tell you how many girls I have met under the age of 25 that have at least two kids by two different fathers and are still not married. It is an epidemic here. As a Christian I stand up and say that we should fix our own backyard before we judge others. Since when do we deny a loving partner their right to say goodbye in print? Is the Gay lifestyle right for me? no, do I have the right to judge anyone but myself? NO, Do I support and love my neighbors? YES. Do I support a person's right to have their own personal life? YES! Get over yourself Batesville, this community is a bunch of judgmental hypocrites blind to the reality of what is really going on and important in the community. Do some research into how many unwed mothers we have, how much drugs and alcohol and leave people's private lives to themselves.

[CJWebber]

08:11 PM on 07/02/2011

A backwater and ignorant place. My condolences to Mr. James.

[meadowkat]

10:05 PM on 06/28/2011

Prejudice based on geography is just another kind of prejudice. Trashing places in the south really helps us move towards equality, huh?
Progressives in conservative areas deserve our support and admiration. It can be easy to be out and liberal in some places and scary in other places even a few miles or states away. I do think obituaries are history and we must demand they be accurate and treat all people with equal respect. Papers publish engagements and those don't require a legal document. Keep the pressure on. We are making changes in small towns across this country.

[Barry0169]

09:12 PM on 06/28/2011

What's even more disgusting than the exclusion of Mr. James (this was no simple omission) was the paper's subsequent attack on him. As the article states, this is a family-run paper -- changing the policy is simply a matter of making the right decision. Instead, these losers decided to print an ad attacking Mr. James. An apology is the ver least they owe him!

[piperflyer]

05:50 PM on 06/24/2011

".......but no mention of Terrance James or even that there was a surviving partner."

Is is possible to be a surviving partner?

[CJWebber]

09:00 PM on 07/02/2011

Yes.

[Ed Baker]

11:49 AM on 06/24/2011

It's their paper and they can do what they like and publish what they like. I hope they review the policy though.

[jcabowers]

11:33 AM on 06/24/2011

Excuses, excuses, made up to hide prejudice and discrimination.

[Lalita Amos]

10:42 AM on 06/24/2011

I get that they have a "policy”; however, their practice should include warning unmarried partners before they see it in the paper. The paid option could be suggested at that time....that is, if they wanted to sully their paper with evidence that marriage takes many forms. Wait! I have an easier idea: can the bigoted policy altogether.

[Banana Republic Resident]

10:38 AM on 06/24/2011

As I understand—I am NOT taking sides here—but if this had been the case of an unmarried heterosexual couple, the surviving partner's name would NOT have been included in the free obit, so let us not turn this into a gay issue.

Regardless of situation, wouldn't this be a great time for the Batesville Daily Guard to step into 2011?

ps - oh, um,... btw, isn't Arkansas one of the "square states"...?

[Randolph Greer]

03:30 PM on 06/24/2011

Your comment is correct if they had the option to marry and didn't.

[labgal]

10:33 AM on 06/24/2011

Kind of off-topic but our local paper frequently mentions the beloved pet of the deceased individual.

[piperflyer]

05:53 PM on 06/24/2011

Better check the pet.

[evita1123]

09:23 AM on 06/24/2011

Aren't siblings and legal spouses synonymous in Arkansas?

[NY Guy]

08:29 AM on 06/24/2011

This is their policy on the "free" obituaries. Under this policy the paper would not list unmarried partners of heterosexual couple also.

[jozie]

11:16 AM on 06/24/2011

Yes, but the heterosexual couple had the option of marrying, the gay couple did not, so they would have never been recognized as a survivor in the obit. Do you not see the inequity there?

[NY Guy]

11:42 AM on 06/24/2011

That is a bigger issue and it has nothing to do with the newspaper.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

07:33 AM on 06/24/2011

Latest information(no OpinIon)Oscar Jones, whose family has owned the newspaper for 82 years, told Reuters that the Daily Guard has a policy of not listing names of unmarried partners, gay or straight, in free obituaries. Paid obituaries cost $85. Our policy has more to do with space and manpower issues than it does sexual orientation," said Jones, who is the newspaper's attorney. His mother, Pat Jones, is the Daily Guard's owner and manager. James said that the newspaper told him that if he had chosen a paid obituary, he could have even listed pets. That was even worse, comparing John to a pet," James said. "It also reeked of hucksterism." No Opinion all fact from By Suzi Parker | Reuters – Wed, Jun 22, 2011 ..

[joe5591]

08:08 AM on 06/24/2011

Terrance James....That didn't seem to take up a lot of HP space and very little of my manpower.

[JRCNSSWV]

07:26 AM on 06/24/2011

Pets?

Check out where Arkansas ranks amongst the 50 states on a quanitity of issues concerning quality of life.

Enough said.

[Annieke]

06:08 AM on 06/24/2011

Only naming married spouses, seems to be a bit outdated. Apart from the blatant discrimination of gay couples, who in Arkansas have no possibility to get married, it would also mean that couples of both sexes who have chosen not to get married, for one reason or the other, will be left out. Like my 65-year old neighbour who was a widow, met a man at a bridge-drive (he is 71) and now they live together but, both having been married before, feel no inclination to get married again.

Or will an exception be made for these couples?

[Dunkleberger Karl]

07:48 AM on 06/24/2011

course the abusive boyfriend of women dont get listed , nor do stranges who wont pay the $85 bucks , just to get a day off work! the free obit is very short! James wanted bells and whistels and wanted to pay for none of it! James is unlike any Gay man Ive ever known! Sept for the ones who live in the closet , have Beards , vote republican,and hord cash!