California Recognizes Lesbian Parents’ Rights

The California Supreme Court issued three rulings yesterday stating that lesbian partners who have children while they are a couple are both entitled, and required, to be treated as the children’s parents, regardless of whether they are formally registered as domestic partners. This puts lesbian parents on an equal footing with unmarried heterosexual parents, and means, among other things, that if the couple splits up, both partners are liable for child support.

This is how it should be. “Equal rights, not special rights” has long been a motto of the gay rights movement, and it’s gratifying to see that at least one jurisdiction agrees.