Wash Times: Custody case to set same-sex precedent
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It looks like a pair of court cases will help to eventually establish precedent and law that will govern same-sex relationships and the children born from them.
One case in Vermont, home of the legal same-sex relationships, and Virginia, a state that has passed laws saying neither same sex "marriages" or civil unions carry force of law in that state.
As these cases are decided, and eventually wind up before the Supreme Court of the United States, both of these states, and their competing visions for fair and just treatment of same sex couples may help to establish the actual law of the land.
Read on, for clips of the original articel from The Washington Times. Headline is linked.
Custody case to set same-sex precedent
By David Gram
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Battles over the custody of children between estranged spouses are nothing new. But this one involves a child born to a lesbian couple in a since-dissolved civil union.
And so far, it has produced dueling court rulings in Vermont, the first state to offer legal recognition to same-sex relationships, and Virginia, which has a law saying neither same-sex "marriages" nor civil unions carry the force of law in that state.
The case comes up for argument before the Vermont Supreme Court tomorrow and before the Virginia Court of Appeals a week later.
Both supporters and foes of same-sex "marriage" and civil unions say that whatever the outcome, historians may one day see the case as a landmark in the debate over what laws should govern same-sex relationships and the children born from them.
"This case has significant implications for a number of reasons," said Mathew Staver, a lawyer with Florida-based Liberty Counsel, which opposes same-sex unions. He said there have been other cases in which out-of-state courts have been asked to grant dissolution of Vermont civil unions and refused because their states don't honor such unions.
In this case, "You have two state laws clashing for the very first time," he said.
If the Vermont and Virginia courts don't resolve their differences, the case likely would go to the U.S. Supreme Court, the ultimate arbiter when there is a clash between the highest courts in two states.
Mr. Staver said, "This would have major precedential value."
{ precedential - not Presidential, though it could affect future Presidential elections, given that Mark Warner of Virginia is known as a potential candidate for the Democratic party }
... more at linked article
One case in Vermont, home of the legal same-sex relationships, and Virginia, a state that has passed laws saying neither same sex "marriages" or civil unions carry force of law in that state.
As these cases are decided, and eventually wind up before the Supreme Court of the United States, both of these states, and their competing visions for fair and just treatment of same sex couples may help to establish the actual law of the land.
Read on, for clips of the original articel from The Washington Times. Headline is linked.
Custody case to set same-sex precedent
By David Gram
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Battles over the custody of children between estranged spouses are nothing new. But this one involves a child born to a lesbian couple in a since-dissolved civil union.
And so far, it has produced dueling court rulings in Vermont, the first state to offer legal recognition to same-sex relationships, and Virginia, which has a law saying neither same-sex "marriages" nor civil unions carry the force of law in that state.
The case comes up for argument before the Vermont Supreme Court tomorrow and before the Virginia Court of Appeals a week later.
Both supporters and foes of same-sex "marriage" and civil unions say that whatever the outcome, historians may one day see the case as a landmark in the debate over what laws should govern same-sex relationships and the children born from them.
"This case has significant implications for a number of reasons," said Mathew Staver, a lawyer with Florida-based Liberty Counsel, which opposes same-sex unions. He said there have been other cases in which out-of-state courts have been asked to grant dissolution of Vermont civil unions and refused because their states don't honor such unions.
In this case, "You have two state laws clashing for the very first time," he said.
If the Vermont and Virginia courts don't resolve their differences, the case likely would go to the U.S. Supreme Court, the ultimate arbiter when there is a clash between the highest courts in two states.
Mr. Staver said, "This would have major precedential value."
{ precedential - not Presidential, though it could affect future Presidential elections, given that Mark Warner of Virginia is known as a potential candidate for the Democratic party }
... more at linked article