North Carolina Court Upholds Adoption Rights Of Lesbian Parent, Legislator

RALEIGH, NC (AP) – A North Carolina appeals court has upheld an adoption that the estranged partner of the first openly gay member of the General Assembly sought to void.

A three-judge Court of Appeals panel ruled Tuesday that state Sen. Julia Boseman’s parental rights could not be voided by her former partner Melissa Jarrell. Jarrell gave birth to the couple’s son, whom Boseman later adopted.

The court ruled that the same-sex nature of their former relationship was not relevant to the case and the result would have been the same if brought by an unmarried heterosexual couple.

The custody battle for the couple’s 6-year-old son led last year to election-year revelations that the Wilmington Democrat had smoked marijuana before being elected to the Legislature in 2004.

This story originally published via the Associated Press