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The ACLU is committed to defending the rights of LGBT parents, not only in custody and visitation arrangements but also by challenging discriminatory laws that restrict the rights of LGBT people to parent.	> Georgia Appeals Court Overturns Contempt Conviction of Lesbian Mother > ACLU Applauds Defeat of Anti-Gay Adoption and Foster Care Bill

Montana District Court Affirms Parenting Rights (09/29/2008)
Missoula, MT – Montana District Court Judge Ed McLean today released his long-awaited decision in the Kulstad v. Maniaci case. The court recognized Michelle Kulstad as a parent to the two children she raised together with Barbara Maniaci, granting Kulstad time with her children and ordering that Kulstad have joint decision-making authority for matters significantly affecting the children, including their “education, activities, health care and spiritual upbringing.”

Virginia Court Affirms Vermont's Jurisdiction in Same-Sex Couple's Interstate Custody Dispute (08/22/2008)
Frederick County, VA – A state circuit court judge has rejected yet another attempt to overturn a Vermont custody order giving child visitation rights to a lesbian parent from a now-dissolved civil union.

Virginia Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Same-Sex Couple's Interstate Custody Dispute (04/17/2008)
Richmond, VA - The Virginia Supreme Court this morning heard arguments in a long-running custody dispute over a child born during the Vermont civil union of two women. The Lambda Legal Defense Fund, the ACLU of Virginia, and Equality Virginia represented Janet Miller-Jenkins, the non-biological mother, who has asked Virginia to honor a Vermont court's ruling, which awarded her visitation rights after the civil union was dissolved.

Georgia Appeals Court Overturns Contempt Conviction of Lesbian Mother (03/24/2008)
ATLANTA - A long nightmare has ended for Elizabeth Hadaway, who was convicted of criminal contempt of court last year for not handing her daughter over to foster care after she lost custody solely because she's a lesbian. A year and one day after a county court judge sentenced Hadaway to 10 days in jail, the Georgia Court of Appeals today overturned her contempt conviction. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented her in the appeal and secured the little girl's return home from foster care last May, applauded the court's decision.

ACLU Asks Georgia Appeals Court to Dismiss Jail Sentence for Lesbian Mother (09/19/2007)
ATLANTA -- The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Georgia Court of Appeals to dismiss a county judge's contempt order and jail sentence against a lesbian mother. Earlier this year, Wilkinson County Judge John Lee Parrott ordered that the child Elizabeth Hadaway hopes to adopt be taken away for three months because Hadaway is a lesbian, and now Hadaway is battling an order from the same judge that she spend as many as ten days in jail.

Too High a Price: The Case Against Restricting Gay Parenting (11/13/2006)

In re Hadaway - Decision (03/24/2008)

Hadaway v. Fowler-Dennard - ACLU Brief Appealing Contempt Charge (05/23/2007)

Hadaway v. Fowler-Dennard - ACLU Memo in Support of Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (04/19/2007)

Hadaway v. Fowler-Dennard - ACLU Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (04/19/2007)

Hadaway v. Fowler-Dennard - Bibb County Order Granting Custody (04/02/2007)

Testimony of Jill G. Joseph, MD, PhD, at a Oversight Hearing on "Legal Threats to Traditional Marriage: Implications for Public Policy" before the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the House Judiciary Committee (04/22/2004)

Letter to the House on D.C. Appropriations Vote (07/29/1999)

Letter to the House on D.C. Appropriations Debate (07/27/1999)

Lesbian and Gay Rights During President Clinton's Second Term: A Working Paper Published by the Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights (01/15/1999)

Johnston v. MO Dept. of Social Services - Plaintiff Profile: Lisa Johnston (05/03/2005)

Behavioral Incident Report - Marcus McLaurin, Lafayette, LA (12/01/2003)
This is a Behavioral Incident Report from Ernest Gallet Elementary School, which was sent home with 7-year-old Marcus McLaurin of Lafayette, Louisiana on November 11, 2003 after his school disciplined him for telling another child that his mother is gay. For more information on this, see the ACLU's press release at http://www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRights.cfm?ID=14481&c=104.

Student Behavior Contract - Marcus McLaurin, Lafayette, LA (12/01/2003)
This is the Student Behavior Contract from Ernest Gallet Elementary School, which was sent home with 7-year-old Marcus McLaurin of Lafayette, Louisiana on November 11, 2003 after his school disciplined him for telling another child that his mother is gay. For more information on this, see the ACLU's press release at http://www.aclu.org/LesbianGayRights/LesbianGayRights.cfm?ID=14481&c=104.

In the Child's Best Interests: Defending Fair and Sensible Adoption Policies (04/30/1998)

Howard v. Arkansas - Case Background (10/04/2004)

Howard v. Arkansas - Case Background (10/04/2004)

Howard v. Arkansas - George Rekers Fact Sheet (10/04/2004)

Howard v. Arkansas - Know the Experts (03/19/2004)
Details on the expert witnesses for the ACLU's challenge to Arkansas's anti-gay foster care ban.

Overview of Lesbian and Gay Parenting, Adoption and Foster Care (04/06/1999)

In re Hadaway - Case Profile (05/02/2007)

Johnston v. MO Dept. of Social Services - Case Profile (05/03/2005)
The Missouri Department of Social Services turned down Lisa Johnston's application to become a foster parent because she's a lesbian.

Howard v. Arkansas - Case Profile (03/01/2005)
The ACLU represented four prospective foster parents in a lawsuit that struck down a regulation banning gay people and people in households with gay family members from foster parenting.

Burch v. Smarr - Case Profile (03/01/2005)