Real-life "Brokeback Mountain" Story

This story is another example of the injustice caused by the refusal to allow gay marriage in this country. Because of a small mistake made on a will, one which would no doubt have been overlooked had this been a heterosexual couple, resulted in a man losing the home where he'd lived with his partner for 20 years. A straight couple would have been considered to have had a 'common-law' marriage even if they hadn't obtained a marriage license and the surviving partner would have inherited the property.

In this case, some obviously greedy relatives (cousins) of the deceased were able to come in and stake a claim on everything and they even had the unmitgated gall to file a lawsuit against Sam Beaumont claiming he owed them money for 'back rent' for the years he lived on the ranch.

The following item is from the Indianapolis Star's website. I'm posting a small excerpt here (click the title to link to the full story).


Partner's death ends happy life on ranch
2 decades together mean nothing in Oklahoma law


December 31, 2005
By Jessie Torrisi
Columbia News Service

On the face of it, Sam Beaumont, 61, with his cowboy hat, deep-throated chuckle and Northwestern drawl, is not so different from the ranch hands in Ang Lee's critically acclaimed film "Brokeback Mountain," which opened in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

That pretty much describes the life Beaumont had. He settled down with Earl Meadows and tended 50 head of cattle for a quarter-century on an Oklahoma ranch. "I was raised to be independent. I didn't really care what other people thought," Beaumont said.

That's where the fantasy of a life together on the range collides with reality. After a quarter-century on the ranch he shared with his partner, Beaumont lost it all on a legal technicality in a state that doesn't recognize domestic partnerships.

Meadows' will, which left everything to Beaumont, was fought in court by a cousin of the deceased and was declared invalid by the Oklahoma Court of Appeals in 2003 because it was short one witness signature.
Copyright 2006 IndyStar.com. All rights reserved

Be sure to read the full article at the IndyStar site...I didn't reprint the entire item here due to copyright restrictions.