[Photocopy of Dallas Morning News article about Don Baker anti-sodomy case] Part: 1 of 2
This clipping is part of the collection entitled: LGBT Collections and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries Special Collections.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
rToday
hursday, August 14, 1986
eThe Dallas Morning News, 196
For the bride,
an arresting
cell-ebrationMARYLN
SCHWARTZ
Marion Ackley ofHere's an eti-
quette problem
that Emily Post
never discussed.
How do you ex-
plain to the wed-
ding guests that
the reception will
be delayed be-
cause the bride is
in jail?
Houston says sheblazed new ground on this subject last
month on her daughter's wedding day.
The trouble started at 22-year-old Re-
gina Brooks' "bachelorette" party the
night before her wedding.
Eight of Regina's girlfriends threw her
a party at Houston's La Bare, a club where
male strippers perform exotic dances.
This is a club that's popular with bache-
lorette parties in both Dallas and Houston.
Regina recalls that there was much kid-
ding and laughing among her girlfriends.
Some jokingly pushed her toward the
dancer when he climbed up to dance on
their table.
Suddenly, the place filled with police.
The customers were shocked to find that
La Bare was being raided.
It was all too realMembers of Regina's party at first
thought it was a joke. But they quickly saw
that it was no laughing matter. The bride
was being carted off to jail. The charge:
public lewdness. Police say the customers
they arrested were erotically touching the
dancers. But Regina says she wasn't.
"I just can't even tell you how terrible
this all was," says Regina. Her sister and
her friends ran up to the police and ex-
plained that she was the guest of honor at
a party. Regina was getting married the
next day. She couldn't go to jail.
"They didn't listen," says Regina. "They
just took me away. I was the only member
of my group arrested." n =
The others in the party were stunned.
In tears, they went to find the groom,
Lanny Puller, at his own bachelor party.
He called the bride's mother.
"I knew it was serious when they called
me at 1 o'clock in the morning," says Mrs.
Ackley. "We couldn't get Regina out of jail
that night. She wasn't even out the next
morning. We were all just frantic."
Regina finally left the jail at 2:30 that
afternoon - 30 minutes past the time she
had been scheduled to say, "I do."
That morning, Mrs. Ackley had called
the justice of the peace. He had said he
could re-schedule for 6 p.m.
"We had only invited family to the cere-
mony," says the bride's mother. "So that
was no problem. But I didn't know what to
tell the people at the reception. It was at
the house of some friends. They greeted
150 guests and told them the bride and
groom would be late - very late."
Regina left jail, went home, dried her
tears and put on her bridal gown.
"She was brave," says her mother. "But
it was all just terrible. That is a nice, de-
cent girl. She didn't deserve that. The
whole day was so sad. The groom's step-
mother cried through everything, she was
so embarrassed. I wasn't embarrassed. I
was furious."In shock
Regina explains that she was in shock
most of the time she spent in jail.
"Nice people go to those clubs. I've even
seen them on the TV news. I didn't do any-
thing wrong," she says. "But there I was in
jail with some of the other guests, some
dancers and some of the waiters. I didn't
believe it was happening. I still don't be-
lieve it."
The bride's arrest was the talk of the
reception. Some people tried to joke. Some
offered sympathy.
"We left the reception early," says Re-
gina. "Our heart wasn't in it."
Mrs. Ackley says her daughter's ordeal
is not over. Her story hit the newspapers
and television news shows. One radio
show had listeners call in to offer their
opinions.
"Regina got so upset she had to go to
the doctor to get something for her
nerves," Mrs. Ackley explains. Regina's
trial is set for early September; if con-
victed, she could be ordered to pay a heavy
fine.
Mrs. Ackley says that Regina has now
filled her wedding scrapbook. She has
saved her engagement announcement, her
wedding invitation and all the clippings
about her arrest.
"Someday Regina's grandchildren will
find this all very funny. Someday we may
even laugh," her mother says. "But rightnow, my heart is broken."
INSIDE
HEARD & OVERHEARD 3
ANN LANDERS 8
S'c 10-11C
C
CIC
By Leslie Pound
Staff Writer of The News
Don Baker may as well have a perma-
nent comma after his name, followed by
the words "gay activist." He is known by
his sexual orientation as some people are
known by their professions.
For seven years, that was OK with
Baker. It had to be. He was the plaintiff in
a lawsuit challenging the Texas sodomy
law, and virtually anything in his past or
present was public record.
Again and again, he told the media
and the courts in Dallas and New Orleans
about his life as a gay man. How he had
his first homosexual feelings at age 20
but couldn't accept them until seven ago-
nizing years later. How family members
first felt hurt by his revelation and how
they later offered him support. How hebusinessman in his field of computers.
If achieving his goals means moving
to California, away from the pressures to
take the lead in Dallas' homosexual com-
munity, he just may move. Baker is 39
now, and he says that the past 12 years of
crusading for gay rights - when he first
came out in New York, and later when he
returned to Dallas - have cut into the
middle of his life.
"Many people say that the strongest
weapon we have in acquiring equality
has to do with sharing of ourselves," says
the soft-spoken man. "I want to be more
than 'Don Baker, activist.' It has been ful-
filling. But it has also been limiting for
people to see me as only that."
Baker's public role as a gay activist is
easing, and he wants to talk - to close
this chapter in his life. He wants to talkabout the hows and whys of his life, the
sacrifices and benefits of showing his in-
ner self to the world.
"You must understand," he says, "that
my participation in the last 12 years is be-
cause of my commitment to . .. my affir-
mation of a belief system - a belief sys-
tem based on personal strong, religious,
educational experience and die-hard pa-
triotism."
Baker saw his role in the case as one
he hoped would bring about a better un-
derstanding of homosexuality. He wanted
"to take homosexuality out of the (sex-
ual) act and into the human aspect."In retrospect, Baker seems the most
natural person to be chosen as plaintiff
- and the most unlikely. The most natu-
ral because he is articulate, amiable and
Please see PLAINTIFF on Page 2C.Dallasites seek swimming pool laws
New group wants fenced areas with safety gates to prevent drowningsBy Craig Dezern
Staff Writer of The News
Jim Francis doesn't want to be talking
about this, but he's not going to stop.
In his office on the 15th floor of the
Bright Bank building, Francis is recalling
the accident that nearly claimed the life of
his son and left the boy severely retarded.
It happened on a Sunday morning six
years ago. As breakfast cooked and the
family dressed for church, Bo, then 22
months old, slipped unnoticed out the slid-
ing glass doors of his family's University
Park home. He wandered through an openPERSONAL FACTS
Makeup wearers
Why do women wear makeup? About
63 percent of the respondents to a
recent national survey said that they
did so for self-gratification. Only 8
percent of the respondents said that
they wore cosmetics to attract the
opposite sex.
Source: Mark Clemnts Research Inc./Natona
Family Opinion lnc/SRI-VALS Internationalgate to the family's swimming pool.
Bo was probably too young to want to go
swimming, Francis says now, but water
holds a natural attraction for toddlers.
Their unsteady steps and meandering
paths make a fall likely.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation saved
Bo's life, Francis says, but it couldn't stop
the brain damage that occurred after just
minutes under water.
Bo was in a deep coma for two weeks.
He was semi-conscious for two more. Six
years later, he still has brain seizures.
"He will never be able to walk, talk ortake care of himself," Francis says.
"It's not pleasant to sit here and talk
about it," he says. "On the other side of the
coin, you see how many more of these acci-
dents are taking place, and somebody's got
to do something about it."
So he has helped to form SPLASH (Seek-
ing Proper Legislation Against Swimming
Hazards). The new Dallas group has
brought together doctors, social workers
and parents who say there is a simple pre-
ventive for accidents such as Bo's - a self-
Please see SPLASH on Page 4C.The Dallas Morning News: Juan Garcia
SPLASH founder Jim Francis.RELATIONSHIPS
Psychiatrist tells how to achieve 'super marriage'By Sylvia Sachs
Scripps Howard News Service
Marriages go through a series of
predictable stages or passages,
says psychiatrist Dr. Harvey
Ruben, and being aware of these
potentially dangerous periods can help
produce successful marriages.
Actually, what Ruben aims for in his
writings, his radio talk show and his
private practice in New Haven, Conn., is anincrease in the number of "super
marriages."
"A super marriage as I define it is a
marriage based on trust, respect, deep
romantic commitment, mature intimacy
and equality," Ruben says.
"Today the statistics are that 50 percent
of all marriages end in divorce, 10 percent
are really super marriages and the other 40
percent fall somewhere between 'pretty
good' to 'mediocre' to'not so bad.' I'd like to
be able to help those people in the middleareas to move up into the super category."
Bantam Books has just published
Ruben's third book, Super Marriage, which
outlines his analysis of marriage passages
and how to face them successfully.
Ruben describes five situations in the
early, middle and mature years of a
marriage where problems can arise:
Family and friends impinging on the
marriage and causing conflicts.
Career and/or financial issues.
Please see EXPERT on Page 2C.I I -
I
Section C
I
I
,
mop"
IL
0 COMI~i
u UU
i
Don Baker eoks beyond lost caus
Plaintiff sees gains des~te courts rejection Of sodomy 1 wsuitThe Dallas Morning News: Joe Laird
Don Baker with (from left) nephew Jacob Watt, sister Margaret Watt, niece Pam Blank, and his parents, J.W. and Mable Baker.
- 0eresented that his form of intimacy was
against the law.
His life has been;public property since
he filed the lawsuit in 1979, challenging
Section 21.06 of the Texas Penal Code,
which prohibits sodomy between mem-
bers of the same sex. After numerous le-
gal steps - Baker Von at some stages and
lost at others - his fight officially ended
in July when the Supreme Court let the
law stand by refusing to hear the case.
Today, Baker is re-examining those
seven years and trying to decide where to
go next. He wants to be known for being
something other than a homosexual. He
wants to establish friendships with het-
erosexuals as well as gays; unfortunately,
he says, his only friends now are gay. He
wants to take Spanish and piano lessons.
He wants to be thought of as a successfull
t- ase
r
1
/1
1
. j
it
l i
_ !i
.1
I
4
Upcoming Parts
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This clipping can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this part or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current part of this Clipping.
[Photocopy of Dallas Morning News article about Don Baker anti-sodomy case], clipping, August 14, 1986; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc947949/m1/1/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.