Full Faith and Family

This decision in Ohio is a good one, and reminds us that there is a dark side to the Gay marriage ban, which is hardly discussed, and far more oderous than preventing gays from getting married.

Traditionally, while there has always been a ‘public policy’ exception to marriage (states can refuse to recognize marriages performed in another state which is contrary to public policy), other family issues have not been held to have such exceptions.

If you get divorced in California, Texas can not refuse to recognize the divorce and either treat the couple as married, or issue their own divorce with a different result in terms of alimony, custody, ect.

The same is true of parentage. An adoption made in California, traditionally, has been recognized everywhere. Otherwise, as you can imagine, family law would become a mess and angry spouses or others could wreak havoc by choosing a venue sympathetic to their view, and trying to undo custody orders, or adoptions.

There have been some troubling rumblings, however, where some courts have started to refuse to recognize other court decision, when it comes to gay couples. I’m not talking about marriage, and forcing recognition in other states. I’m talking about custody agreements.

Here, a lesbian ended her civil union (in Vermont) and, when the Vermont court granted visitation rights to her ex-partner, she fled to Virginia and got a judgment naming her sole parent, ignoring the full faith and credit requirement, because Virginia doesn’t recognize civil unions.

An appeal is in the works, and it’s possible this will end up in the Supreme Court, as it involves the full faith and credit clause. If Virginia is allowed to ignore the Vermont order, it will have a chilling effect on gay families. Imagine that your status as a parent would depend on where you stood. You couldn’t move to certain states, without losing your child. Even a trip to Disney world could cause problems, as during your time in Florida, you wouldn’t legally be the guardian of your child.