The dismissal of an Alabama judgment that denied the rights of lesbian parents shows the court’s strong support for LGBT rights – what a contrast with 30 years agoVL v EL,a ruling handed down by the supreme court on Monday, is not a highly publicized blockbuster. But it’s an important sign of progress for homosexual and lesbian rights nonetheless. The court quickly dismissed the Alabama supreme court’s attempts to deny parental rights to a same-sex couple. This is the latest example of a fundamental transformation in the rights granted to LGBT people in the United States, and with the supreme court shifting from a major barrier to progress to a major instrument progress for homosexual and lesbian rights.
VL v EL involves a run-of-the-mill custody dispute. A lesbian couple living in Alabama had three children together through the consume of reproductive technology. Under Alabama law,same-sex couples did not enjoy parental rights. As a result, VL established temporary residence in Georgia and formally adopted the children, and with both VL and EL recognized as legal parents by the Georgia court. The couple broke up in 2011,and subsequently VL claimed that her former partner had denied her access to her children. The matter went to the family court, which granted visitation rights to VL. EL appealed against the decision, and making (among others) the argument that the Georgia grant of parental rights was invalid. The Alabama court of civil appeals rejected this argument,while sending the case back to family court to hold an evidentiary hearing.
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Source: theguardian.com