Court Bans Divorced Mom’s Partner from Sleeping Over
Proving once again that what’s good for the gander isn’t necessarily going to be allowed by homophobic family court judges for the goose, a divorced mom from Tennessee has been informed she can’t allow her lesbian partner to sleep over on the same nights as her kids.
Her ex-husband, meanwhile, has remarried and his wife sleeps over – well, lives – with him every night.
Angel Chandler and Joseph Barker have been divorced for ten years, and shared custody of their two kids (now thirteen and fifteen) that whole time. They’ve both entered new relationships too, Barker remarrying five years ago while Chandler has maintained a monogamous relationship with a woman since 1999. But when they went to court late last year to modify the custody arrangements, the State of Tennessee sent both parents and both kids for psychological work-ups.
The evaluation determined Chandler’s partner was a positive influence on her two kids. The court ignored it. A “paramour” restriction was added to the custody arrangements earlier this year, restricting Chandler’s partner from being in their home on the nights when the kids were with Mom. Because after nine years, suddenly a set of teenagers are going to be shocked to find out Mom’s a lesbian?
The women are now living in a duplex, side by side, so they can abide by court rules and still be together – sort of. The ACLU has stepped into the fray, filing a brief this week that urges the court to remove the paramour restriction, calling it unconstitutional for interfering with Chandler’s abilities to raise her children as she sees fit.
If the court really wants to do what’s best for the kids, how about allowing two sets of parents to get on with their lives in loving relationships and letting those kids see examples on both sides of happy, committed, successful couples?
Image: Amazon
Source: ACLU
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The court had no business doing that! If the father is ok with it, and the children, who are old enogh to decide whether or not they want the partner there are ok, then whats the problem? Courts need to stay out of perfectly fine families and direct attention to the families who really do need help. As for Jim, well, I strongly suggest that you deal with your issues with gay/lesbian couples. Their here, and dispite what you think, God love them as much as He loves you.
I think courts should be able to bar overnight visits by partners of ANY gender/sexuality if it’s in the child’s best interest. Most sexual abuse of children is committed by mothers’ boyfriends. But given that the kids in question are teenagers and the courts do not apply these restrictions equally, this is outrageous discrimination.
STFU Jim.
Oh Jim, you warrior you, what would we do without men like you around to show us the proper way to live? Oh yeah. We’d move onward, as in FORWARD.
Good to see the Family Court banning the Sexually Deviant from damaging the impressions of the vunerable – Onward – Jim