Parenting

Keating. In order to move, she agreed to transfer custody
to Dean, with the understanding that she would
be allowed liberal visitation as was the case for Dean
when she had custody. After Dean remarried, he filed
a petition to modify the visitation arrangement and
filed a motion for a temporary restraining order. He
alleged that the children had been harmed by contact
with their mother and her domestic partner. Based
on Dean's allegations, the court issued a temporary
restraining order that limited Pamela's contact to
supervised visits and disallowed any contact between
the children and Peggy. The court determined that
the children had been exposed to inappropriate sexual
behavior and had become eroticized. The judge
relied on the testimony of Mr. J. Lynn Rhodes, a former
minister who recently received his master's
degree in counseling and who admitted during trial
that his religious beliefs regarding homosexuality
affected his opinions in the case. The judge rejected
the opinions offered by plaintiff's experts, Dr. Carol
Jenny, MD (Director of the Child Advocacy and
Protection Team at Children's Hospital Denver), and
Dr. Larry Bloom (a licensed clinical psychologist
with 20 years’ experience in evaluating family interaction
and dynamics). The court held that homosexuality
is generally socially unacceptable, and it is probable
that the children will be subject to social difficulties
as a result of the plaintiff 's lifestyle in addition to
their personal concern. The court stated it would
find it appropriate to reduce the plaintiff's visitation
with the children, even if issues of sexual abuse or
eroticization were resolved, because (1) the plaintiff's
open homosexuality was likely to create confusion
and difficulty for the children, (2) her lifestyle was
likely to negatively affect the development of the children's
moral values, and (3) the state had an interest
in supporting conventional marriages and families.
Pamela appealed to the Supreme Court of Wyoming.
APA's Position: APA submitted a brief arguing that:
(1) the social science research (a) has reported no significant
differences between children raised by lesbian
mothers or gay fathers and those raised by heterosexual
parents, (b) indicates that the overall psychological
health of children raised by lesbian mothers or gay
fathers does not differ from that of children raised by
heterosexual parents, (c) reports no differences
between the social relationships of children raised by
lesbian mothers or gay fathers and children raised by
heterosexual parents, and (d) does not suggest that a
parent's sexual orientation influences the sexual identity
of his or her child; (2) the social science research
does not suggest that lesbian mothers and gay fathers
are likely to be unfit parents; and (3) visitation cases
should be decided without regard to a parent's openly
lesbian or gay relationship because (a) an assumption
that a child should not have significant contact with a
parent in an openly lesbian or gay relationship undermines
Wyoming's statutory mandate that visitation
determinations be based on the welfare of the child,
and (b) the trial court's reference to a state interest in
supporting conventional marriages and families does
not provide an appropriate basis for restricting a parent's
visitation rights.
Result: The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed the
trial court, but strongly criticized the judge for
indulging in personal biases against homosexuality
and ordered the court to continue to ease the limitations
on Pamela's visitation times.
Bottoms v. Bottoms, 457 S.E.2d 102,
(1997 WL 421218)
(on appeal after remand)
Brief(s) Filed: 11/93 (Va. Ct. App.); 12/94
(Va. S. Ct.)
Courts: Virginia Court of Appeals; Supreme Court
of Virginia
Year of Decision(s): 1995
Issue: Whether a lesbian biological mother could be
denied custody of her child on the grounds that her
sexual orientation rendered her unfit as a parent
Facts: Kay Bottoms sought custody of her grandson
because his mother, Sharon Bottoms, was a lesbian and
was raising the boy in the home she shared with her
lesbian lover. The trial court held that because
she was a lesbian, Sharon Bottoms was per se unfit to
raise her son and awarded custody to the grandmother.
APA submitted a brief at the appellate level, and the
trial court's decision was reversed. The grandmother
appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
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