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Gay Parents: Child
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In Thursday's family law news, a Tennessee appeals court ruled yesterday that gay parents are to be treated the same as heterosexual parents in determining child custody. The decision reversed an earlier ruling that a gay father was not allowed to expose his son to his "gay lifestyle." The case arose after Cher Lynn Hogue filed for divorce and a temporary restraining order was issued her ex-husband Joseph Hogue forbidding him from exposing his son to his gay lifestyle or any of his gay lovers. Cher Lynn later claimed Joseph violated the restraining order by telling his son he was gay - a judge agreed ,finding Joseph in contempt. A state appeals court initially found the restraining order was valid, but yesterday decided it was not. Read the court's opinion here [PDF].
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For the most part, the organizations are relying on a relatively small but conclusive body of research -- approximately 67 studies -- looking at children of gay parents and compiled by the American Psychological Association. In study after study, children in same-sex parent families turned out the same, for better or for worse, as children in heterosexual families.
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CHICAGO – In the two decades since it's been a licensed state adoption agency, Catholic Charities of Boston has placed a tiny number of children with gay parents: 13 of 720 adoptions. But when those adoptions became public knowledge, the archdiocese's bishops - following a Vatican directive - announced they had to stop.
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Ms. Meiksin represents part of a first wave of babies intentionally conceived or adopted by gay parents in the 1980s as the gay pride movement took off. Mr. McGeorge, on the other hand, is part of a different group of children -- many from minority and low-income communities -- born of a heterosexual union that dissolved when one parent came out as gay.
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That's often not the case for gay parents. In states where second-parent adoption is not an option, the biological or adoptive parent may have no choice but to return to work for medical coverage of the children if domestic partner benefits aren't provided.
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In custody cases involving a gay or lesbian parent, courts have considered the fact that a child might be teased as contrary to the best interests of the child. They argue that the stigma attached to having a gay or lesbian parent will damage a child's self-esteem. This has been refuted in many studies. Research has found that although children of gays and lesbians do report experiencing teasing because of their parent(s), their self-esteem levels are no lower than those of children of heterosexual parents. 9
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