No child custody for 'gay' dad

The Maryland Court of Appeals upheld an order that prevented a divorced man from having custody of his child if he lived in a homosexual relationship.

Ulf Hedberg, represented in court by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, contended that the Supreme Court decision striking down Texas sodomy laws in 2003 invalidates any court order or legislation that has a "moral base."

But the appeals court rejected that argument, ruling that where minors are involved in visitation disputes, courts may take into account the "sexual conduct of a parent to determine whether it has an adverse impact on the child."

The dispute arose after Hedberg left his wife, Annica Detthow, to pursue a same-sex relationship. A court in Virginia, where the family lived, granted custody to Hedberg with liberal visitation to Annica but specified that Hedberg no longer live with his partner.

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Hedberg did not appeal the order, but one year later, he moved 26 miles to Maryland and asked the state's courts to remove the cohabitation restriction.

He appealed after the Maryland Circuit Court refused to modify the custody order.

Hedberg's attorneys argued that the 2003 sodomy decision, Lawrence v. Texas, rendered the cohabitation restriction unconstitutional.

But the Maryland Special Court of Appeal court sent the case back to the trial court where Hedberg will now bear the burden of proving there has been a change in circumstances that makes it harmful to the child to not allow him to cohabit with his same-sex partner during visitation.

Mathew D. Staver of Florida-based Liberty Counsel, which represents Detthow, pointed out Hedberg cannot use the Lawrence case to overturn the ruling, likely making his burden of proof insurmountable.

"The Maryland Special Court of Appeal rightly rejected the argument that any law founded on morals is unconstitutional," Staver said.

Law is "morality in print," he emphasized.

"To eliminate morality as a basis of law would eliminate law itself," said Staver. "Courts have the right to protect children in custody disputes from being thrust into an environment where one parent is cohabiting with an unmarried partner."