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The authors conclude by examining their emergent theory, and the contributions that their study makes to studies of legal consciousness and to social and legal policy. They indicate that their research reveals how LGBT individuals frame their access to the creation and maintenance of families; the legal, social, and geographic obstacles to those goals; and their responses and reactions to those obstacles. The authors find that individual factors such as demographics and familial desires; mediating factors such as social networks, legal actors, and organizations; and legal context all interact with cultural discourses about the law in order to shape LGBT parents’ legal consciousness. Their findings thus illustrate that there is no single experience of LGBT parents with regard to legality. Their legal consciousness as part of the parenting process is as varied and contextual as the legal and sociopolitical environments in which they reside.

This chapter delineates the ways in which marriage equality advocates emphasized the needs and interests of primarily white and well-to-do lesbian and gay families while ignoring those of LGBT parents of color. It argues that because same-sex marriage advocacyoverlooked the family circumstances of the majority, and the most disadvantaged, of children raised by gay and lesbian parents, future advocacy must put the needs of those children at the forefront. It also questions the assumption by many in the marriage equality movement that the recognition of same-sex marriages will help solve the legal parentage questions arising from the formation of LGBT families. It urges advocates not to conflate marriage with parentage. By focusing so intently on marriage, advocates have ignored the fact, for example, that children sometimes have two parents who are not interested in marriage. The focus on marriage rather than on parentage, the chapter argues, has created troubling blindspots for the LGBT movement, blindspots that can be removed only if advocates recognize the need to separate parentage questions from those of marriage.

This book explores the history of legal reforms designed to gain legal recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) families, and how such reforms have fundamentally changed the way parenthood is defined and regulated by American law. It chronicles the human stories of LGBT parents who have shown courage and determination as they battled in the courts to gain legal recognition of and protection for their relationships with their children. It also examines how courts have determined whether parents who are open about their sexual orientation can be good parents and argues that the sexual orientation and the gender identity of parents are irrelevant in making judicial determinations regarding parental rights. Finally, the book discusses the progress that LGBT parents have made through the courts.

This book explores the history of legal reforms designed to gain legal recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) families, and how such reforms have fundamentally changed the way parenthood is defined and regulated by American law. It chronicles the human stories of LGBT parents who have shown courage and determination as they battled in the courts to gain legal recognition of and protection for their relationships with their children. It also examines how courts have determined whether parents who are open about their sexual orientation can be good parents and argues that the sexual orientation and the gender identity of parents are irrelevant in making judicial determinations regarding parental rights. Finally, the book discusses the progress that LGBT parents have made through the courts.

This chapter profiles cases involving children of so-called planned lesbian and gay families. In particular, it explores the debate over the parental rights of lesbian mothers and known sperm donors. It also considers the extent to which cases involving LGBT parents have forced courts to grapple with the question of what makes a parent, the controversial question of what role biology should play in determining parenthood, and the law's willingness to recognize that the well-being of children is not necessarily dependent on their having a father. Finally, it examines whether it is sometimes in a child's best interests to have more than two parents.

In this chapter, the authors focus on describing the particular paths to parenthood undertaken by their participants. They examine the demographics of participants as they pertain to the method of becoming a parent (e.g., insemination, prior heterosexual relationships, adoption, marriage, fostering), in order to begin to explore the ways in which individual factors produce family outcomes. The authors further examine some of the rationales offered for selecting a particular route to parenthood, and how legal context plays a role in producing choices and access for routes to parenthood. Findings illustrate that factors such as income prove important in the route to parenthood, including the role that economic differences play in access to surrogacy for gay men. In addition, legal context shapes the particular path to parenthood and participants’ security regarding their parenthood status. Those living in legally positive states and who are non-biological parents of their children, for example, indicated that they were able to acquire parenthood rights via second-parent adoption or marriage. The findings in this chapter indicate the manner in which individual factors and legal context interact to affect choices in paths to parenthood for LGBT parents.

This chapter profiles cases involving children of so-called planned lesbian and gay families. In particular, it explores the debate over the parental rights of lesbian mothers and known sperm donors. It also considers the extent to which cases involving LGBT parents have forced courts to grapple with the question of what makes a parent, the controversial question of what role biology should play in determining parenthood, and the law's willingness to recognize that the well-being of children is not necessarily dependent on their having a father. Finally, it examines whether it is sometimes in a child's best interests to have more than two parents.

This chapter focuses on cases involving children of so-called planned lesbian and gay families, with particular emphasis on how courts decide whether any given person is a parent to begin with. It cites the statutes enacted in Delaware and the District of Columbia recognizing functional or de facto parenthood, which can benefit nonbiological LGBT parents. It also profiles legal disputes pitting lesbian mothers against one another: biological mothers who argued that it was in their children's interests not to have judicially mandated contact with their former same-sex partners, and lesbians who insisted that they should be recognized by the law as parents because they functioned as such and the children considered them to be their parents. The chapter explores how courts have grappled with the question of the parental rights of same-sex partners of legal parents and highlights the legal rights of nonbiological mothers.

This concluding chapter reviews how the book has examined the different ways that courts have grappled with the question of whether LGBT parents can be good parents and the legal battle waged by LGBT parents to gain legal recognition of and protection for their relationships with their children. By profiling various types of child custody and visitation rights cases involving individuals who decided—either before or after they became parents—to live openly as lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, or transsexuals, the book has highlighted the limitations that inhere in using criteria such as biology, marital status, sexual orientation, and gender identity as indicators of competent parenthood. The chapter concludes by arguing that judges and other decision makers who hold the future of children in their hands must discard rigid and outmoded conceptions of what every family (and every parent) should look like, and instead focus on the actual relationships between adults and the children whom they care for.

This chapter profiles cases involving transsexual parents who have battled in the courts to have their relationships with their children legally recognized despite having no biological connection to them. It discusses the extent of the constitutional protection afforded to legal parents when it comes to the termination of their parental rights, along with the arguments advanced by lesbian and gay parenting advocates that gender is irrelevant to the question of whether and how parents love and care for their children. It also highlights the intersection of parenthood and gender identity in legal disputes where courts have grappled with how the law should respond to the transsexuality of some parents. It shows that transsexual parents in some ways face greater challenges than LGBT parents owing to their greater risk of having their parental rights terminated altogether.

This concluding chapter reviews how the book has examined the different ways that courts have grappled with the question of whether LGBT parents can be good parents and the legal battle waged by LGBT parents to gain legal recognition of and protection for their relationships with their children. By profiling various types of child custody and visitation rights cases involving individuals who decided—either before or after they became parents—to live openly as lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, or transsexuals, the book has highlighted the limitations that inhere in using criteria such as biology, marital status, sexual orientation, and gender identity as indicators of competent parenthood. The chapter concludes by arguing that judges and other decision makers who hold the future of children in their hands must discard rigid and outmoded conceptions of what every family (and every parent) should look like, and instead focus on the actual relationships between adults and the children whom they care for.

This chapter profiles cases involving transsexual parents who have battled in the courts to have their relationships with their children legally recognized despite having no biological connection to them. It discusses the extent of the constitutional protection afforded to legal parents when it comes to the termination of their parental rights, along with the arguments advanced by lesbian and gay parenting advocates that gender is irrelevant to the question of whether and how parents love and care for their children. It also highlights the intersection of parenthood and gender identity in legal disputes where courts have grappled with how the law should respond to the transsexuality of some parents. It shows that transsexual parents in some ways face greater challenges than LGBT parents owing to their greater risk of having their parental rights terminated altogether.

This chapter focuses on cases involving children of so-called planned lesbian and gay families, with particular emphasis on how courts decide whether any given person is a parent to begin with. It cites the statutes enacted in Delaware and the District of Columbia recognizing functional or de facto parenthood, which can benefit nonbiological LGBT parents. It also profiles legal disputes pitting lesbian mothers against one another: biological mothers who argued that it was in their children's interests not to have judicially mandated contact with their former same-sex partners, and lesbians who insisted that they should be recognized by the law as parents because they functioned as such and the children considered them to be their parents. The chapter explores how courts have grappled with the question of the parental rights of same-sex partners of legal parents and highlights the legal rights of nonbiological mothers.

This chapter profiles cases involving children of so-called planned lesbian and gay families. In particular, it looks at lesbian and gay litigants in foster care and adoption cases who have sometimes found themselves in court battling government officials seeking to deny them the opportunity to become parents. It also considers the issue of gay teenagers who are placed under the care of gay foster parents and the contention of child welfare officials that lesbian and gay people are incapable of being good parents because of their same-sex sexual orientation and relationships. Finally, it examines how the courts have responded to adoption petitions, including those concerning joint adoptions and second-parent adoptions, brought by LGBT parents who were open about their sexual orientation.

This chapter profiles cases involving children of so-called planned lesbian and gay families. In particular, it looks at lesbian and gay litigants in foster care and adoption cases who have sometimes found themselves in court battling government officials seeking to deny them the opportunity to become parents. It also considers the issue of gay teenagers who are placed under the care of gay foster parents and the contention of child welfare officials that lesbian and gay people are incapable of being good parents because of their same-sex sexual orientation and relationships. Finally, it examines how the courts have responded to adoption petitions, including those concerning joint adoptions and second-parent adoptions, brought by LGBT parents who were open about their sexual orientation.