Family Court is Homophobic

Family Court is Homophobic

Monday, January 5, 2009

filed under: family

A Tennessee court doesn't want this divorced mom's kids to know she's a lesbian.

A divorced mom has been informed by a Tennessee family court that her lesbian partner is not allowed to sleep over the same nights that her children sleep over her house.

Angel Chandler and Joseph Barker have been divorced for ten years, and have shared custody of their two kids (ages 13 and 15) since their split. They're both in new relationships -- Barker remarried five years ago while Chandler has been in a monogamous relationship with her partner since 1999. But when they went to court last year to modify the custody arrangements, the state of Tennessee sent both parents and kids for psychological evaluations.

Although the evaluation deemed Angel Chandler's partner to be "a positive influence on her children," the court ignored it.

The women have managed to skirt around the agreement -- somewhat. They live in side-by-side duplexes, so they can abide by court rules and still be together. The ACLU has filed a brief asking the court to remove the restriction, calling it unconstitutional for interfering with Chandler's abilities to raise her children.

Tell us -- If your ex husband was gay, would you not allow your kids to stay over the same night as his partner? Or would you want them to see both sides of a happy, monogamous relationship? Comment in the momlogic community.