Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 30, Ed. 1 Friday, December 8, 2006 Page: 1 of 84
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OCAL GAY AND LESBIAN FUND BACKS PARKLAND EXPANSION I HEALTH TRACKING PROGRESS AGAINST AIDS I PLUS VIEWPOINTS I BOOKS I STAGE I TUBE
""'V^ICE
c oo i use e an
IENNI BEAUCHAMP
hosts LGBT video
news on DVtv,
online at
DaNasVoice.com
LOCAL
Planned LGBT
retirement commu-
nity in Dallas at
dead end, backers
say. PAGE 6.
NATIONAL
Vice President's
office announces
Mary Cheney's
pregnancy.
PAGE 22.
VOLUME 23 I ISSUE 30
ESTABLISHED 1S84
dallasvoice.com-
DECEMBER I 8 I 2006
THE PREMIER SOURCE FOR LGBT DALLAS/FORT WORTH
Y-
Alleged gay serial killer arrested
Louisiana man confesses to raping, killing as many as
23 men over last 10 years; confession stuns community
By David Webb Staff Writer
Tony Halls, left, and Vernon Gibbs, right, exchange rings during their wedding ceremony in the
Home Affairs offices in George, South Africa, on Dec. 1.
1st gay couple wed in SA
Gibbs, Hall exchange vows
1 day after gay
marriage bill OK'ed
A gay Louisiana man's confession
this week that he raped and killed at
least 23 men over a 10-year period has
left the LGBT community in the
state's bayou land stunned and con-
cerned about public reaction.
Police arrested Ronald Joseph
Dominique, 42, of Blue Bayou, on
Dec. 1, on charges he murdered two
men in Jefferson Parish in 1998 and
1999. In subsequent interrogations
Dominique confessed to those mur-
ders and 21 others, including nine in
Terrebonne Parish alone.
A task force has been investigating
the string of unsolved murders that
began in 1997. The victim's bodies —
left in various stages of undress —
have been found in the parishes of
Terrebonne, Lafourche and Iberville
and in suburban New Orleans.
Most of the victims were asphyxiat-
ed.
Wayne Beasley, who met
Dominique in a Houma gay bar in
1998 and occasionally played pool
with the confessed serial killer, said
See SERIAL KILLER on PAGE 14
By Celean Jacobson Associated Press
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
— Vernon Gibbs and Tony Halls got
hitched Dec. 1 in South Africa's first
gay wedding, a day after the govern-
ment made same-sex marriages legal.
The couple, who run a guest lodge
and animal rehabilitation center on the
southwestern coast, donned their
game-ranger outfits and went down to
the local home affairs office in the
town of George.
In front of marriage officer Petro
Kruger they exchanged rings and were
pronounced a married couple.
"It was so amazing. So quick and
easy. I can't believe it. I am so happy,"
said Gibbs.
South Africa on Nov. 30 became
See SOUTH AFRICA on PAGE 28
lAWvA'stauiiyiiyiA
■t
Jennifer Hudson, who
stars as Effie in the new
movie version of
"Dreamgirls," stopped
in Dallas last week far-
ing a publicity tour. A
devout Baptist, Hudson
says the Bible calls
homosexuality a sin. But
she loves her gay fans.
See Story Page 47,
Hudson's Response,
Page 36.
Ill is useless in legalities of planning a funeral
Lack of special form designating who is in charge of
arrangements can leave same-sex couples vulnerable
By Beth Reed
Arranging a funeral for a loved one
is never easy.
For same-sex couples, having all
the legal paperwork signed and copied
is an integral part of planning for that
time. According to Kate Moore, co-
owner of Forest Lawn Funeral Home,
cohabitating couples of all sexualities
should sign a form called
Appointment of Agent to Control
Disposition of Remains.
"Without that document, I am legal-
ly bound to listen to the next of kin,"
HOLIDAY
Planning a holiday party
can be a challenge.
Ruben Caballero with
Fantasy Bartenders
offers some advice on
how to make your event
memorable. PAGE 38.
Staff Writer
she said in a phone interview.
Almost daily, Moore said, families
come in to plan a funeral, expecting
that their role as executor of the will
authorizes them to do so. However,
power of attorney ends at death, and a
will is not official until it has been
through the probate courts, which can
take weeks or even months, according
to Moore.
"[A will] is useless, as far as plan-
ning a funeral is concerned," said
Moore. "The blood relatives can come
in and take everything over. They can
request for certain people to not be
present at the funeral, and I have to
enforce it."
The Appointment of Agent form
came about originally in 1989, and
was later amended in 1993. According
to Barkley Miller, a Dallas attorney,
the form allows people to make deci-
sions about their funeral arrangements
while they are still alive. Although you
don't need a lawyer to get the form
(it's available online and at some
funeral homes, including Forest
Lawn), it must be notarized.
"The purpose of the form is to put
that power back where it belongs,"
h
SPIRITUALITY
Tammy Faye's son, Jay,
begins a TV series with
Dallas-bred documen-
tarian Jeremy Simmons.
Jay struggles with, then
realizes that being gay
isn't a sin. PAGE 48.
V
m
i_<
GIG
Dixie Chicks returned to
Dallas for the last stop
on their 'Taking the Long
Way' tour. Playing it way
too safe, Natalie Maines
delivers a 'nice' per-
formance. PAGE 49.
Local News 6
National News 21
Viewpoints
Life+Styles
Starvoice
Calendar
Classifieds
36
38
63
65
78
Ronald Joseph Dominique
said Miller, "with the decedent."
According to Joel Lazarine, legal
director at the Dallas Legal Hospice,
the document came about because of
HIV issues. At funerals for HlV-posi-
tive people, families sometimes
imposed their morality and even
claimed that the person had
"renounced their sinful lifestyle" just
before the end, he said.
"People were concerned," said
Lazarine in a phone interview. "They
thought, 'What if my family does
this?' It affected a lot of people across
class lines."
When Lazarine's partner passed
See ARRANGEMENTS on PAGE 19
INDEX
Nightclub
owner killed
in 3-story fall
Alexander decorating
balcony for holidays when
accident occurred
By David Webb Staff Writer
A gay Oak
Lawn nightclub
owner fell to his
death this week
while stringing
Christmas lights
on the balcony of
his third-floor
apartment.
Dale Alex-
ander, 67, who
operated Phases on Oak Lawn
Avenue, was pronounced dead at the
scene by the medical examiner after
his body was discovered on the
ground in the 4600 block of Cedar
Springs Road. A neighbor last saw
Alexander standing on a stepladder on
his balcony on Tuesday at about 6:30
See ALEXANDER on PAGE 13
WEEKEND WEATHER
•p") FRI Partly Cloudy 44°
SAT Mostly Cloudy 31/53
SUN Chance of Rain 44/59
Temperatures warm up over the weekend to lows in the mid 50s.
Storms move in by Sunday, with chance of rain increasing each
day through Tuesday.
Dale Alexander
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Nash, Tammye. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 30, Ed. 1 Friday, December 8, 2006, newspaper, December 8, 2006; Dallas, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth238938/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.