Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 16, 1993 TAG: 9306160206
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Tyler Doustou was not in court Tuesday as his mother, Sharon Lynne Bottoms, a lesbian; and his grandmother, Kay Bottoms, argued over which of them should have temporary custody as they await a Sept. 7 trial.
After a brief hearing, Henrico County Circuit Judge Buford M. Parsons Jr. left in place a lower court judge's order in March that Tyler should live with his grandmother, pending any appeals. Parsons appeared unmoved by testimony that Tyler has taken to calling his grandmother "Momma."
Virginia already has one of the nation's most restrictive positions on homosexual parenting. Under Roe vs. Roe, a case decided in 1985 by the Virginia Supreme Court, a gay father who exposed his daughter to "his immoral and illicit" relationship was rendered "an unfit and improper custodian."
But Tyler's case potentially goes even beyond Roe vs. Roe, which was a custody dispute between two natural parents. A major reason the American Civil Liberties Union has taken on the case of Sharon Bottoms, 23, is that Tyler was awarded to a third party - his grandmother.
"The broader implications are ominous," said Donald K. Butler, who represents Sharon Bottoms free for the ACLU and is a former chairman of the family law section of the Virginia Trial Lawyers' Association.
If the state Supreme Court - which is expected to consider an appeal eventually - leaves Tyler with his grandmother, it would mean that any homosexual could lose his or her children. "It would open up a whole Pandora's box," said Butler.
"I'm not worried about a Pandora's box," said Richard R. Ryder, who represents grandmother Kay Bottoms. "I'm representing my client."
As more homosexuals become open about their sexual orientation, hundreds - possibly thousands - of children in Virginia are being raised by homosexual parents, experts say.
Neither Kay nor Sharon Bottoms would answer reporters' questions Tuesday. "No comment," said Tyler's 42-year-old grandmother, ducking her head from photographers as she left court. Sharon Bottoms shook her head and smiled, deferring also to her attorney.
Tyler, who lived with his mother from birth until March, apparently was removed solely because of her homosexuality. "There was no evidence of abuse or neglect of anything that would affect a 2-year-old," Butler argued during Tuesday's hearing.
At the time of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judge's ruling, Sharon Bottoms had lived for seven months with her lover, April Wade, who works at a Richmond restaurant. Tyler's father has not taken a role in the court hearings, and apparently has no objection to Sharon Bottoms having custody.
The lower-court decision followed a 45-minute hearing. There was no home study, psychological evaluation or other independent assessment of which woman would provide the better home.
After losing Tyler, Sharon Bottoms, who is unemployed, briefly moved in with her sister, apparently to ease objections about her living arrangement. But when the sister left town, she and Wade resumed living together.
Losing Tyler "has been devastating" to Bottoms, Butler said recently. That sentiment was compounded by difficulty in arranging visits, he said.
After the hearing, Ryder intimated that more than homosexuality may figure in the September trial. "I think the evidence will show that the child stayed with Kay more than with his mother since he was born," Ryder said. Tyler also has been referring to his grandmother as "Momma" from the time he could speak, Ryder said.
Through Butler, Sharon Bottoms denied both assertions.
The Virginia case comes as some states are loosening or re-evaluating limitations on homosexual parenting.
In a study several years ago, the National Center for Lesbian and Gay Rights listed six states - Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia - in which statutory or case law says homosexuality is cause for finding a parent unfit.
Thirteen states then had rulings or laws favorable to allowing lesbians or gay men to have custody of children, according to LaFonda Jones, who is updating the survey for the San Francisco-based group.
Her new research suggests that "the world is sort of re-evaluating," and becoming more accepting of homosexual parents, LaFonda said. Data compiling is incomplete.
Nancy Polikoff, an American University Law School professor who was involved with the Roe vs. Roe case eight years ago, said she hopes that awareness of changes in other states and in the mental health community's response to homosexuality will cause the Virginia Supreme Court to re-evaluate if it considers Sharon Bottoms' case.
But she also acknowledged that the Roe vs. Roe decision could legitimately be reapplied. "The rule for Roe is extreme enough that the trial judge could apply it if he or she wants to."
Nationally, she said, "the Virginia decision is at the extreme."
by CNB