California Court Grants Equal Parent Status to Homosexuals

The California Supreme Court on Monday ruled that homosexuals who decide to raise children together should be given full rights as parents.

In three separate but related cases, the court effectively made it possible for a child to have two legally recognized mothers. Each case involved a lesbian couple that had later broken up. The Justices said each woman should have the status of a parent in being responsible for the child.

Activists from the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which provided legal help in one of the cases, issued a statement expressing that "victory for children" had been gained.

“These decisions are a tremendous victory for children, for parental responsibility, and for common sense,” said Courtney Joslin, an NCLR Senior Staff Attorney who argued one of the cases before the California Supreme Court.

One of the cases revolved around a same sex couple, described in court documents simply Emily B. and Elisa B. The couple used artificial insemination by an anonymous sperm donor to impregnate Emily B.

In the case, the Supreme Court used an "intent test" to determine the role of the parent, saying that a woman who agreed to raise the children as her own throughout the process is considered a parent under the Uniform Parentage Act.

When Elisa B. decided to cut off all contact to Emily B., the latter brought on a child support action against her. The court said that there is "no reason why both parents of a child cannot be women."

It said that a person who actively participates in raising the child as her own "should be responsible for the support of those children - regardless of her gender or sexual orientation."

The other two cases decided on Monday involved similar principles.

In the case of K.M v. E.G., the court gave a Marin County woman the right to be the second mother of twins after the first one moved out of state.

In the case Kristine H. v. Lisa R., the court ruled that one woman could not go to court to terminate the rights of her former partner once they had agreed in court that they were both parents. The court affirmed that a child could have two mothers.

The Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal group that advocates for traditional families and issued various amicus briefs to prevent the legalization of a second same-sex parent, issued a statement Monday denouncing the outcomes.

"Today's ruling underscores the importance of amending California's constitution to preserve marriage as one man and one woman," said Mathew Staver, President and General Counsel of the Liberty Counsel. "The people of California will not put up with such nonsense."

Staver added, "Thousands of studies conclude that children need moms and dads, but not two moms and two dads, but one of each. Gender does matter to children."

The results from Monday's cases come ahead of a possible statewide vote in 2006 that could see the introduction of two initiatives for constitutional amendments that will declare that marriage can be defined only as the union between one man and one woman, thereby making homosexual marriages illegal.

One is called the Protect Marriage initiative, which will only allow marriage to be defined in the traditional way, but will leave open the possibility that "legal unions" take place between homosexuals. The other is called Vote Yes Marriage which aims to take its efforts one step further. Not only will marriage be defined traditionally, but it will also prohibit "legal unions" which confer the "benefits of marriage."

Vote Yes Marriage proponents, which include the Liberty Counsel argue that their initiative will not allow marriage under another name. Protect Marriage supporters, which include Focus on the Family and the Family Research Center, say that they will not comment on the other proposal.