ABSTRACT
This Article is the first to survey the parentage laws of all 50 states and assess whether they allow both members of unmarried same-sex couples to establish legally recognized relationships with their children. My research shows that only 11 states provide robust legal rights to unmarried same-sex couples and their children, while 30 provide only limited or uncertain protection, and 9 offer no recognition at all. Most jurisdictions make it difficult, or even impossible, for both members of a same-sex couple to establish secure legal parent-child relationships with their children without getting married. Before Obergefell v Hodges brought marriage equality to the United States, many activists and commentators expressed concern that winning access to marriage would restrict, rather than enhance, LGBTQ people’s liberty. They claimed that marriage equality would force LGBTQ people to conform to heteronormative sexual values by entering monogamous marriages and that those who failed to do so would face further marginalization …
Hazeldean, Susan, Illegitimate Parents (February 10, 2022). UC Davis Law Review, 2022, Brooklyn Law School, Legal Studies Paper No 704.
First posted 2022-02-12 17:00:20
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