Yet another step towards redefining parenthood away:
New Mexico's highest court has ruled in a precedent-setting case that a same-sex partner of an adoptive mother has legal rights as a parent and can seek child custody.
The state Supreme Court issued its unanimous ruling Friday in the case of a woman who wanted joint custody of a child adopted by her partner during their 15-year relationship.
Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights said the court's ruling was very significant because the justices concluded that New Mexico's "parentage statutes must be applied in a gender neutral way to men and women equally, and regardless of a parent's sexual orientation or marital status."
The custody dispute involves Bani Chatterjee and Taya King, who adopted a 13-month-old girl from Russia in 2000. The couple separated in 2008. -- The Associated Press
16 Comments
Are there any Christian's left in the Democrat party?
There goes the natures law and importance of real families.
There are some people who want a society where every child equally belongs to every adult. A society where biology, adoption, and marital status are regarded as meaningless, and with no "private" families where children have their own set of parents.
Cases like this move us in that direction by having the state arbitrarily assign parental status.
I feel really sorry for the child.
What strikes me as odd is that a person who did not adopt has any parental rights, regardless of sex. Adoption is the legal process where parental rights are established, no? So, regardless of the sexes of the parties, the person living with the adoptive mother was just a live-in friend who should have no rights to the child.
If both parties adopted the child (it's ambiguous in the article), then it makes sense that both parties would have a parental right in the event of a separation, so in that case I'm not sure what the big lesbian victory here is.
@ Overcame...
Currently, the US is a patchwork of adoption laws for gay couples. The State of New Mexico does allow single GLBT and joint adoption, with second-parent adoptions allowed only in some areas.
I don't know any specifics in this case.
I wonder if the mother of this poor child is one of the countless women in other countries who are being exploited as baby-making machines to fulfill the desires of same-sex couples to have a pet.
This is absolutely ridiculous. Children have the RIGHT to be raised by their natural parents. Here is a wonderful story about a little girl rightfully returned to her natural father after being ripped away from her biological parents.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=1511564
Barb, You're truly disgusting.
Ash
I agree. There are only two kinds of parents; biological and adoptive. Cases such as this, which grant de facto parenthood, are a dangerous precedent which we ignore at our peril.
Barb: That was brillant I am with you, putting the needs of children first. They regard kids as pets and trophies while we treat them as human beings. They cannot vote so it is up to adults to protect them. Sadly this court just slapped children in the face and decided that selfish adult sexual desires comes first.
Amen, AM.
There is another case that is similar to the one at the top of the thread. I recommend every marriage supporter read Bill Duncan's summary of this case, as well as the actual decision. Pretty disturbing stuff. The judge(s) actually said that, by way of California's parentage laws, an adult could be deemed a parent regardless of marital status, domestic partnership status, or whether they've ever lived with or known the child's other parent!
The case is called "E.C. v. J.V." and can be found with Bill's analysis here.
http://www.marriagedebate.com/pdf/MarriageLawDigest.Jan.2012.pdf
Here's another bad decision from NM courts:
http://volokh.com/2012/06/04/wedding-photographer-may-be-required-on-pain-of-liability-to-photograph-same-sex-commitment-ceremonies/#disqus_thread
It's encouraging that Volohk doesn't believe that was a correct ruling, and he hopes it goes to the NM Supreme Court and even SCOTUS. He also believes it is in the same vein as the T-shirt company lawsuit.
What is incredible is that in Florida, where gay marriage and civil unions are banned, the courts there have found the State's gay adoption ban unconstitutional.