West Virginia’s Supreme Court of Appeals has granted custody of a minor to his deceased mother’s former lesbian partner, leading one attorney in the case to accuse the court of making state law rather than ruling from it.

The minor child has lived with his grandparents for three years since his mother’s fatal accident. Despite that, the court ruled that his mother’s former lesbian partner, Tina B., had a stronger connection — and entitlement — as a “psychological parent.”

On Friday, June 17, 2005, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals redefined what a parent is by declaring a lesbian partner the “psychological parent” of her deceased lover’s young child. In Tina B. v. Paul S., the court removed custody of the child from his maternal grandparents and gave it to the lesbian partner, Tina B..

Coming soon…