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Domestic Abuse. . . Sitting on the sofa in his darkened living room Edgar Tinsley says he is worried, but he feels lucky, too. He fears for his former lover, Cecil Scott Pierce, who faces state prison and deteriorating health. And he is concerned about his own future - how he will pay the bills without his ex's income. Still, he also breaths a sigh of relief, because he could have ended up like Christopher Muniz, dead at his lover's hand. Or Tinsley might be awaiting trial, himself, for killing or maiming his abusive partner in self defence. According to Tinsley, the abuse began soon after they first met and moved in together in Guerneville four and a half years ago. And he claims that his partner's pattern of drunkenness and violence was already well known in the River area before then. "The deputies in west County knew about him long before he met me," said Tinsley, who described how Pierce was once hog-tied by police after a bout of drunken aggression. A year later, on April Fool's Day, 1994, they moved to Santa Rosa, and the violence escalated, according to Tinsley. "Scott was drunk and obnoxious,' said Tinsley. "We had just moved here. He threatened the next door neighbors. I was in the kitchen. he started punching me. Naturally I'm going to fight back. I slipped and fell on some grease on the floor. Scott got on top and was choking me. I grabbed the phone that had fallen on the floor and hit him upside the head." Tinsley said that after the incident he went to sleep and Pierce went to Kaiser to treat his head wound. At the hospital Piece told doctors that Tinsley had started the fight. Police arrested Tinsley and he was placed on probation. The series of events that eventually led to Pierce's incarceration began on Christmas Day, according to Tinsley. "I didn't want him to drink because he eas going to his parents in San Leandro," said Tinsley. But Pierce purchased a bottle of vodka with money that Tinsley had given him for grocery shopping, got drunk, and had to be carted back home by Tinsley. When Pierce threatened to kill him, Tinsley called the police, he said. After Pierce threatened Tinsley again in the officers' presence they arrested him. Following a jail stay of "several weeks" he was back home again. As a result of another episode in February, the court assigned Pierce to an alcohol rehab program in Eureka. He left the program, returned to Santa Rosa, was picked up by police on a probation violation, and, at press time, was in Sonoma County Jail facing a possible state prison stretch. In support of Tinsley's assertions, the county's computer shows a history of 'drunk in public" and "creating a disturbance" arrests for Pierce, dating back to January, 1993, with two convictions. Looking back over his four years of hell, Tinsley says he "did everything, tried everything" to make things right between himself and his ex-partner. And he cites lack of support from law enforcement and the social service system as one of the reasons why the situation continued as long as it did. "If they (police) had handled it when it first happened, it wouldn't have escalated," said Tinsley. "Being black and gay in Sonoma county I was really reluctant to start dealing with the legal system. I was trying to make it work because I was worried about what kind of support system was out there." Pierce says he was unable to find services appropriate for a gay man in the county, but eventually receive some assistance through the Victim Witness program. He is now seeing private counselors to deal with his psychological issues. Still, the primary reason why he stayed in the relationship was the same as it is for many women who refuse to leave their abusive husbands and boyfriends - he needed the money. Tinsley was paying the bills with a combination of Pierce's disability and the money he earned from providing in-home care for Pierce, who has AIDS. "I stuck with it this long because all the things I need and want are here," said Tinsley, referring to his mid-Santa Rosa apartment, the ceiling covered with old time rocker posters and the walls lined with fur rugs and other natural objects. Now that Pierce is out of the picture, Tinsley, who suffers from a back injury and anxiety attacks, has reapplied for an SSI pension. His landlady has allowed him to stay in his apartment even though he owes her money, and he is looking for a roommate to help with the rent. Tinsley says he is sad about his former lover's fate, because he still cares about him, but he is happy to be free of the abuse and pain. "I don't want to hurt him, but I don't want to be hurt anymore either," Tinsley said. ###

. . .Domestic Death As gay activists are quick to point out, except for sexual orientation, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders are just like everybody else. But the downside of this reality is that gays also share humanity's negative propensities - something that was revealed dramatically when police arrested a Santa Rosa man June 30 in the stabbing death of his domestic partner. A month later, 36 year-old David Freezon was still incarcerated in Sonoma County Jail, charged with murdering his lover with a kitchen knife. At press time Freeman was unable to make the $150,000 bail set by the court for his release. According to the Santa Rosa Police Department, Freezon called 911 for help after he inflicted a single, deadly stab wound to the chest of his partner of four years, Christopher Muniz, also 36. Emergency workers were unable to revive Muniz when they arrived at the couple's Link Lane home. According to Freezon's attorney, Public Defender Charles Ogulnik, his client was acting in self-defence when he stabbed Muniz. Freezon has pled not guilty to the crime, and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing August 21, to determine if there is sufficient evidence to try him for homocide. An examination of Santa Rosa Police Department records revealed that officers had been called to the couple's home four times prior to the stabbing, between March, 1995 and November, 1996, for "disturbing the peace" complaints. During the last call, November 23, police arrested Muniz for resisting arrest or interfering with police, but the charge was dismissed. Although this particular case has made a big splash in the local newspaper, cases of domestic violence between same-sex couples are rare—at least on the record. Nadine Reyes, an advocate with the SRPD domestic violence and sexual assaults unit says she can only remember five or six such cases in the past year—all involving gay male couples. According to Detective Sergeant Richard Sweeting of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department domestic violence unit, county police receive one or two calls for same-sex domestic violence each month. Still, both Sweeting and Reyes admit that the cases that end up on a police report may be only the tip of the iceberg. There is no way to determine, they say, how much same-sex domestic abuse goes unreported. But, there is no legal reason for same-sex domestic abuse victims to suffer in silence. Domestic violence laws do not discriminate against same-sex couples. These laws define domestic partners as spouses, co-habitant, without regard to the gender of the individuals. Also, after several murder cases in which the victims had sought police protection from violent husbands, local law enforcement in Sonoma County is beginning to take a stronger stand against domestic violence. An informal agreement among the county's various police departments requires that officers make an arrest in domestic violence cases where there is visible injury, whether or not the victim is pressing charges. The sheriff's department has also beefed up its protection of victims by creating a separate unit for domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, which includes two advocates and two counselors. In addition, working in tandem with the Sonoma County YWCA, the sheriff's department has secured a federal grant to start three new support groups for domestic violence victims in the west county - including separate groups for lesbians and gay men.

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