Abstract
Lesbian and gay parents are profoundly affected by the political and legal climate within which they live and raise their children. This paper explores the changing legal treatment of lesbian and gay families in the United States and Canada during the past two decades. Through an examination of recent American and Canadian child custody, and access and adoption cases in which sexual orientation has been a factor, the author documents homophobic laws and policies facing lesbian and gay families, as well as the important legal and political victories they have achieved. On a recent car trip through Virginia, a small roadside sign caught my attention: “You are leaving Henrico County.” Henrico County: the jurisdiction where Sharon Bottoms lost custody of her child; the jurisdiction where lesbian mothers still risk the automatic loss of their children. I looked over at my 13-year-old daughter, fast asleep in the passenger's seat, and thought once again about the fragility of our lives.
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