A Victory for Gay Rights & Terrible Friends

When Sharon Kowalski and Karen Thompson fell in love, they knew they needed to be careful. It was the 1970s, and they lived in a conservative Minnesota town. They feared that if they came out of the closet, they would lose their jobs — or worse. The couple exchanged rings and bought a house together, but they didn’t come out to their families. Then one day, Sharon got into a terrible car accident. When Karen rushed to her side, Sharon’s family explained that they’d be the ones caring for Sharon.

Then Brandi tells us about sixteen-year-old Jason Sweeney, who worked hard doing construction jobs with his father and hoped to one day attend a military academy. But those dreams were dashed by a group of kids who Jason considered his friends. Justina Morley, 15, lured Jason into the woods near the Delaware River, where Edward Batzig, 16, Nicholas Coia, 16, and Domenic Coia, 17, were lying in wait.

And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

WEST 57TH: "Bitter Quarrel: A Test of Love" - 3/4/1989, CBS

“The Minnesota legal fight that changed the course of the gay rights movement,” by Benjamin Kwan for Minnesota Lawyer 

“In Re Guardianship of Kowalski,” Justia.com
“It happened to us, 1983,” video on YouTube by Karen Thompson
“A bitter fight for control,” by Joyce Murdoch for the Washington Post

“Gay rights victory,” by Mark Hansen for the ABA Journal

“Gay groups are rallied to aid 2 women’s fight,” by Nadine Brozan for the New York Times

“Woman’s hospital visit marks gay rights fight,” by Nadine Brozan for the New York Times

“Two sides are bypassed in lesbian case,” by Nadine Brozan for the New York Times

“Disabled woman’s care given to lesbian partner,” by Tamar Lewin for the New York Times
“Karen Thompson’s role in the movement for marriage equality,” by D. Kelly Weisberg for Hastings Women’s Law Journal

“Friend Fatale” episode, Murder Among Friends

“The Twisted Murder of Jason Sweeney” by Nicole Henley, Medium

“Manson Echo in Philly Teen Murder Case” ABC News

“Slaying of a Teen Leaves City Stunned” by David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times

“Murder of Jason Sweeney” wikipedia.org

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