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4A • Wednesday, August 27, 2014
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Claud Melvin Chappell Jr.
Judges chide state lawyers over gay marriage bans
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Claud Melvin Chappell Jr., 88, went to be with the Lord Saturday, Aug. 23, 2014. He was born Jan. 26, 1926, in Holdenville to Claud Chappell Sr. and Susie (Willhite) Chappell. On Aug. 3, 1947, he married the love of his life, Lois Faylene Graham. Claud and Lois celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary this year. He was in the Army Air Corps. He was an entrepreneur and thriving businessman. He owned, operated and retired from C&J Trucks of Seminole. He, along with other investors, was an integral part of purchasing Prague National Bank, now known as Vision Bank. Retiring at the age of 50, Claud loved to travel, gold, pilot small aircraft, play cards, invest in the stock market and much more. He was a member of the Elks Lodge, Jaycees and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Claud Chappell Sr. and Susie (Willhite) Chappell. Survivors include his wife, Lois Chappell; two daughters and spouses, Judy and Joe Roberson of Del City, Janis and Jimmy King of Shawnee; one grandchild, Lindsay Chappell King; nieces and nephews. Service will be at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 27, at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church with the Rev. Dr. Perry Williams officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Crossroads Hospice or the charity of choice.
Frances B. ‘Fran’ Meyer 91, of Oklahoma City Frances B. “Fran” Meyer, 91, of Oklahoma City, died Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014, in Oklahoma City. She was born Jan. 3, 1923, in Mayview, Missouri, the daughter of William and Laura (Staley) Sowers. On June 5, 1942, she married Theodore John “T.J.” Meyer. She spent many years as a housewife and homemaker but also was an Avon rep. for several years. Mrs. Meyers was a member of the Order of Eastern Star for over 25 years. She enjoyed traveling and had traveled to every state in their R.V. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, a great-grandson: Richard Elliot Jr., and several siblings. Survivors include son, Don Meyer; daughters, Patricia Volok and Katherine McCall; three grandchildren, Erica Meyer, Angela Yaw, and Brandy Elliott; great-grandchildren, Angelica, Preston, Trista, and Reesie; and several nieces, nephews, other family and friends. Services will be at 10 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 28, at Walker Funeral Service Chapel with Pastor Mike Melton officiating. Burial will be at New Hope Cemetery in Meeker. Walker Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements.
CHICAGO (AP) — Federal appeals judges bristled on Tuesday at arguments defending gay marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin, with one Republican appointee comparing them to nowdefunct laws that once outlawed weddings between blacks and whites. As the legal skirmish in the United States over same-sex marriage shifted to the three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, more than 200 people lined up hours before to ensure they got a seat at the much-anticipated hearing. While judges often play devil’s advocate during oral arguments, the panel’s often-blistering questions for the defenders of the same-sex marriage bans could be a signal the laws may be in trouble — at least at this step in the legal process. Richard Posner, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, hit the backers of the ban the hardest. He balked when Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Timothy Samuelson repeatedly pointed to “tradition” as the underlying justification for barring gay marriage. “It was tradition to not allow blacks and whites to marry — a tradition that got swept away,” the 75-year-old judge said. Prohibition of same-sex marriage, Posner said, derives from “a tradition of hate ... and savage discrimination” of homosexuals. Attorneys general in both states asked the appellate court to perma-
nently restore the bans, which were ruled unconstitutional in June. Its ruling could affect hundreds of couples who married after lower courts tossed the bans and before those rulings were stayed pending the Chicago appeal. Gay marriage is legal in 19 states as well as the District of Columbia, and advocates have won more than 20 court victories around the country since the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the federal government to recognize state-sanctioned gay marriages last year. The Supreme Court has yet to take up a case, but Utah and Oklahoma’s cases were appealed to the high court and Virginia’s attorney general also asked the justices to weigh in. Appeals court rulings are pending for Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, while appellate court hearings are scheduled next month for Hawaii, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and is expected soon in Texas. Posner, who has a reputation for making lawyers before him squirm, cut off Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher just moments into his presentation and frequently chided him to answer his questions. At one point, Posner ran through a list of psychological strains the children of unmarried same-sex couples suffered, including having to struggle to grasp why their schoolmates’ parents were married and theirs weren’t. “What horrible stuff,” Posner said. What benefit to society in barring gay
33, of Shawnee Denisha Janine Lathrop, 33, of Shawnee, died Aug. 23, 2014, at her home. Services will be at 2 p.m., Friday, Aug. 29, at Temple Baptist Church with Rev. Mike Craig officiating. Other information will be announced by Walker Funeral Service.
August 27 Spinning Spools Quilt Guild invites all members and anyone interested in quilting to a workshop at the Senior Center on Bell street each Wednesday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bring your machine ,handwork or just come and visit. Guild library will be available. Free coffee and 50 cent drinks. For more info, contact Evelyn 570-2310.
August 28 Shawnee Tops OK 263, take off pounds sensibly. There will be a weigh in from 9 to 10 a.m. and a meeting from 10 to 11 a.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church, 302 E. Independence. Call 279-2587 for more information. There is a bonus in July and August for new members. Laureate Alpha Tau, chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, will have its first meeting for 2014-15 season at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 28 at Van’s, 717 E. Highland, with President Mary Ann Whittington serving as hostess.
September 2 Shawnee High School Class of 1958 Reunion committee meets at 6 p.m. at Van’s Pig Stand on East Highland.
September 5 First Friday Shawnee, sponsored by the Downtown Arts Association, takes place along Main Street from 5 to 9 p.m. The free, family-friendly event features local artists, live music and art activities. AT&T Pioneers will meet at the Shawnee Golden Corral at 11 a.m.
Claude L. Wood
September 9
60, of Moore
Westside Neighborhood Watch will meet 6:30 to 8 p.m. at St. Benedict Catholic Church. Martin Abbott, director of ministries for Mission Shawnee, will be speaker. To find the meeting, follow the yellow balloons. The meeting is open to the public.
Claude L. Wood, 60, of Moore, died Aug. 25, 2014, at an Oklahoma City hospital. Services will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 30, at Walker Funeral Service Chapel. The family will be at the funeral home from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday. More information will be announced by Walker Funeral Service.
September 10 Wesley on Wednesdays for fall will take place at Wesley United Methodist Church, 302 E. Independence. Dinner begins at 5:45, and classes will be from 6:30 to 7:30.
September 16 BIBLE VERSE And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. Joel 2:28-32
the arguments in court was plaintiff Ruth Morrison, a retired Indianapolis Fire Department battalion chief. She said that because Indiana won’t recognize the woman she married in another state as her wife, she wouldn’t be able to pass on pension and other benefits if she dies. “Now Indiana tells us our promises are only good if our spouses are of the opposite sex,” Morrison, wearing a fire department uniform, said during a rally ahead of the hearing Monday night. A voter-approved constitutional amendment bans gay marriage in Wisconsin. State law prohibits it in Indiana. Neither state recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. The lawsuits that led to Tuesday’s hearing in Chicago contend that the bans violate the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. Despite the seriousness of the hearing, there was some levity. At one point, a visibly uncomfortable Samuelson struggled to offer a specific reason for how gay marriage bans benefit society. He then noted a yellow courtroom light was on signaling his allotted time was nearly up. “It won’t save you,” Judge Ann Claire Williams, a Bill Clinton appointee, told him, prompting laughter in court. Samuleson smiled, and said: “It was worth a try.” ___ Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mtarm
SHORTCOMINGS
A free healthy lifestyle class conducted by Tim Smith will be held at 6 p.m. at Lakeview Church of Christ, 15301 SH 102 in Shawnee, on Thursday nights.
Denisha Janine Lathrop
marriage, he asked, outweighs that kind of harm to children? “All this is a reflection of biology,” Fisher answered. “Men and women make babies, same-sex couples do not... we have to have a mechanism to regulate that, and marriage is that mechanism.” Samuelson echoed that, telling the hearing that regulating marriage — including by encouraging men and women to marry — was part of a concerted Wisconsin policy to reduce numbers of children born out of wedlock. “I assume you know how that has been working out in practice?” Judge David Hamilton responded, citing figures that births to single women from 1990 to 2009 rose 53 percent in Wisconsin and 68 percent in Indiana. While the judges seemed to push defenders of the bans the hardest, they also pressed the side arguing for gay marriage to say just where they themselves would draw the line between who could and couldn’t marry. Would they argue in favor of polygamy on similar grounds, by pointing to the emotional toll on children in families with multiple mothers or fathers, asked Hamilton, a President Barack Obama appointee. “If you have two people, it’s going to look like a marriage,” said attorney Kenneth Falk of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. “If you have three or four, it doesn’t. ... There’s no slippery slope.” Among those following
The Heartland Hospice Volunteers will meet at the New Beginnings Church, located at 1203 E. 42nd, Shawnee, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
September 18 The Individual Artists of Oklahoma will sponsor a poetry reading at Benedict Street Marketplace at 7 p.m. Feature reader will be Professor Ken Hada, head of the Creative Writing Department at ECU. He is a nationally known, published and respected American poet. He is the force behind and the creator of the annual Scissortail Poetry Festival held on the ECU campus. Open mike will follow.
September 19
Third Friday in Shawnee will be celebrated again with food, music and art downtown on Main Street. A special reception will be held at the Broadway Arts Gallery and Studio, 655 N. Broadway, for local artist Dr. Frank Howard and Colorado artist, formerly from Holdenville, Susan Reed. All are invited and refreshments will be served from 6 to 9 p.m.
September 20 The annual Santa Fe Depot Museum Homecoming will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Events appropriate for all ages are being planned.
September 21 Wesley annual Block Party will be from 5 to 7 p.m. at Wesley UMC, 302 E. Independence. All are invited and welcome.
September 30 Sisters at Heart Women’s ministry program will be at 6:30 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church, 302 E. Independence. April Miller will speak.
October 3 AT&T Pioneers will meet at the Shawnee Golden Corral at 11 a.m.
October 21 The Heartland Hospice Volunteers will meet at the New Beginnings Church, located at 1203 E. 42nd, Shawnee, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The family of
Lacy Mullings would like to extend a heartfelt, “Thank You” to everyone who has kept our family in your prayers during our devastating loss. The overwhelming support of love, food, gifts and kindnesses shown to our family following Lacy’s death has touched us deeply. There are no words that can express our extreme gratitude other than, thank you and may God Bless and hold you all in the palm of His hand. The Family of Lacy Mullings 1997-2014 “Forever In Our Hearts”