Dissolution of Same Sex Unions and Child Custody/Visitation

If two women or two men are joined in a civil union and choose to bring children into the union, if the union is later dissolved, how should child custody and visitation rights be determined?

The Vermont Supreme Court has decided that it should be granted no differently than that of a union “marriage” between a man and a women.

In a case involving two women, one of which is the child’s biological mother, the court awarded physical custody to the biological mother with visitation to the other woman - every other weekend - alternating between Vermont and Virginia. U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear the case on appeal.

Because the women live in different state, there is a discrepancy as to which court has jurisdiction governing the custody of the five-year old daughter, the case was filed in both Vermont and Virginia, the biological mother still having a case pending in the latter. Read the complete story here

This decision seems to be a monumental step toward acceptance of same sex unions, at least in the state of Vermont. In this case there is a biological parent and the court, while awarding physical custody to that parent, nevertheless saw it fit to grant reasonable visitation to the non-custodial parent, which to me is a stronger statement than had neither parent been the natural parent. What do you think? Will Virginia follow by upholding Vermont's decision and where does this lead us?

Cheers ~