SF Chronicle Editorial: Parenthood prevails

San Francisco Chronicle
Editorial
Parenthood prevails
Wednesday, August 24, 2005

THOSE WHO resist equality for same-sex couples out of objections to an ostensible "gay lifestyle" -- or out of concern about endowing homosexuals with "special rights" -- should take a look at this week's California Supreme Court ruling on the rights and responsibilities of parenthood.

In three separate cases, the justices ruled that gays and lesbians should be given the same status as heterosexual couples who plan families and raise children.

The landmark rulings were as emphatic as they were refreshing. In essence, the justices were declaring that the interests of a child should supersede this society's enduring political and theological misgivings about a home with two moms or two dads.

What the rulings mean is that more parents will be required to pay child support and that more parents will have custody and visitation rights after couples separate.

"A person who actively participates in bringing children into the world, takes the children into her home and holds them out as their own, and receives and enjoys the benefits of parenthood, should be responsible for the support of those children -- regardless of gender or sexual orientation," the court said.

It was a victory for family values. Coming less than a month after another significant Supreme Court ruling on civil rights -- declaring that businesses cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation -- it appears the drive for equality is gaining legal traction.

Despite such gains, same-sex couples continue to be shut out of myriad other rights and responsibilities that come with marriage. In the latest three cases, the rulings underscored that the issue is not just discrimination against how adults love and live -- it's also about how children are deprived of financial support and parental contact when anti-gay bigotry infects public policy.

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URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/08/24/EDGFREBJB71.DTL


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