Miscellaneous

Strange Bedfellows in Lesbian Custody Case

By Anne Skove, Esq.

"Dogs and cats, living together...mass hysteria!"

Anyone who has ever even thought about taking the LSAT knows that many legal issues are matters of categorization. When the law doesn't quite know how to categorize something, all heck breaks loose. We've seen how this works (or doesn't) with issues such as common-law marriage and grandparents' visitation rights.

It's much the same for same-sex civil unions. This is particularly so when state lines are crossed, and even more when children of civil unions are involved. In Virginia, the supreme court heard arguments regarding custody of a child. The biological mother, who was artificially inseminated, claims that her former partner (the two formed a civil union in Vermont) has no parental rights.

Vermont, meanwhile, has held that the partner does retain rights because both raised the child as a legally united couple in Vermont.

After the union was dissolved, the partner paid child support. According to case law and policy, support of children is what it's all about. Known non-biological men who act as fathers and who pay child support have been held to have parental rights. In other words: all the law asks is that *someone* acts as a parent. If that role is filled (and support is paid), fine.

The biological mother is being represented by Liberty Counsel, which urges people to "pray for this case and please support Liberty Counsel so we can continue to provide free legal assistance to people like Lisa and her daughter."

In the other corner, the former partner is getting sympathy from fathers' rights groups. "I'm in Janet Jenkins' corner on this one all the way," writes self-described "men's and father's issues columnist, radio commentator, and blogger" Glen Sacks.

See Former Lesbian Pair Argue over Parental Rights, Julian Walker, Virginian-Pilot (April 18, 2008); In Defense of Janet Jenkins, Lesbian Mom, Glen Sacks, Mens News Daily (April 16, 2008); and Lesbian Mom Describes How She Got the Dad Treatment, Part II, Glen Sacks (February 6, 2007).

See also Out-of-State = Still Married, court-o-rama (February 3, 2008), and Legislation Attempts to Solve Common Problem of Common-law Marriage, court-o-rama (March 28, 2008).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on April 18, 2008 (boomark / email).