THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 10, 1995 TAG: 9506100304
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday refused to reconsider its ruling that a lesbian should not have custody of her 3-year-old son.
The court ruled in April that Tyler Doustou should stay in the custody of his grandmother, Kay Bottoms, rather than his mother, Sharon Bottoms.
To support its ruling, the court noted that the child could be subjected to ``social condemnation'' because his mother is living with a female lover.
The state's highest court reversed a ruling by the Virginia Court of Appeals that the boy should be raised by his mother. A Henrico County Circuit Court judge had ruled in September 1993 that the child should be raised by his grandmother.
``To be honest with you, I don't know what's going to happen from here,'' Sharon Bottoms said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Sharon Bottoms, said it has not decided whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
If the ACLU takes the case to the U.S. Supreme Court and loses, the ruling could be a setback for homosexual parents across the country, said Kent Willis, executive director of the state ACLU.
``The risk is you will take a bad court decision in Virginia and in effect turn it into national policy,'' Willis said.
``We are facing the first difficult decision in this entire process. Every decision thus far has been to forge ahead on Sharon's behalf,'' he said.
The lawyer for Kay Bottoms could not be reached for comment.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT LESBIAN CUSTODY by CNB