NCLR and Lambda Legal File Appeal on Behalf of Gay Dad in Maryland Custody
Case
U.S. Supreme Court 2003 Privacy Ruling Renders
Previous Custody Order Unconstitutional
NCLR
and Lambda
Legal, January 31, 2005
Contact: Karen Boyd, NCLR Communications Director,
415-577-4498
Lisa Hardaway, Lambda Legal, 212-809-8585 x266; pgr: 888-987-1971
Susan Silber, Silber & Perlman, 301-891-2000
ANNAPOLIS, MD—Lambda Legal and
the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a brief today in the Maryland
Court of Special Appeals seeking to remove a custody restriction on behalf of
a gay father who is barred from living with his partner while raising his
12-year-old son.
[The Father (names removed at Lambda Legal's request.)] and his ex-wife, residents of Virginia at the
time, separated when their son was four years old. For the next five-
and-a-half years, the child lived with [the Father] and his partner, [the
partner], in a suburban Virginia home the couple purchased together. The
home had a back yard and was near a good school. Together, the two men
provided a stable loving home. After the boy’s mother moved to Florida, she
petitioned for custody. A Virginia court issued an order giving [the Father] physical custody of the boy but requiring
[the partner] to move out of the
family’s home. In order to maintain two separate residences, the couple sold
their house and moved into smaller apartments in Maryland. Though [the
partner] visits his family as much as he can, the restriction keeps them all from
living in the same home together.
“This child’s world was turned upside down all
because a Virginia court issued a knee-jerk antigay custody restriction,”
said Susan Sommer, Supervising Attorney at Lambda Legal. “He lost his home,
his school, his park and most importantly the proximity of the caring adult
who has helped raise him. No one wins with this arrangement, and it’s
imperative that the court step in and put the child’s interests first.”
A trial court in Maryland denied [the Father's] request
to remove the restriction. In the appeal filed today, NCLR and Lambda Legal
urge the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to remove the custody restriction
because of the drastic decline in quality of life it has caused for the child,
and also because it is unconstitutional. The Virginia court based its decision
on that state’s sodomy law, which was struck down, along with 12 others
nationwide, in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2003.
“[The Father] is a devoted parent who has done a
tremendous job raising his son,” said Shannon Minter, Legal Director for the
National Center for Lesbian Rights. “[The partner] always has been a
positive influence in the child’s life. There is no reason that [the Father]
should not be able to live with his partner of nearly ten years, and the trial
court was wrong to let this harmful and unconstitutional situation stand.”
Though the child’s mother opposes letting [the partner]
move back into the home, she answered “I don’t know” to numerous
questions asking her if she had even a single concern about [the Father] and
[the partner] living together with the child. Lambda Legal and NCLR argue that
the Virginia order doesn’t benefit the child, and instead harms him.
Attorneys for the mother will file a reply to today’s appeal before oral
arguments are set.
Maryland attorney Susan Silber of Silber & Perlman in
Takoma Park represented [the Father] before the trial court in Maryland and
continues to serve as counsel with NCLR and Lambda on the appeal.
###
Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to
achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men,
bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation,
education, and public policy work.
NCLR is a national legal resource center with a primary
commitment to advancing the rights and safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender people and their families through a program of litigation, public
policy advocacy, and public education. We can be reached through our website
at <www.nclrights.org>.
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