Colorado’s Homosexual Gov. Indicators Legislation That Will Assist LGBTQ Dad and mom Get By means of a Little one Custody Nightmare / LGBTQ Nation

Colorado gay Gov. Jared Polis (D) just signed legislation to help solve a legal issue denying same-sex parents custody of their own children.

The bill, known as “Marlo’s Law,” was named after the child of Colorado House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar (D). When Esgar gave birth to their daughter, Marlo, using genetic material from her wife, Heather Palm, both women were surprised to discover that in order to have custody of the child they had created together, they had to legally adopt Marlo.

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In a February speech at Colorado House, Esgar said: “[My wife] realized that she actually has more rights to the embryos that we have frozen yet than she actually has to our daughter. Heather needs to adopt her own daughter.”

The law, officially called HB 22-1153, helps streamline the adoption process for same-sex parents whose children were conceived through assisted reproduction. It allows LGBTQ parents to declare a “voluntary acknowledgment of parentage,” a declaration of parental rights that has the full force of a court order.

The issue at hand also affects LGBTQ parents in other states. In Oklahoma, a lesbian parent is fighting for custody of her daughter after a judge ordered the parent’s name removed from her child’s birth certificate because she was the “non-pregnant” partner. The child’s pregnant mother and the sperm donor are now fighting the non-pregnant partner for legal custody of the child.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that married same-sex parents of children conceived by a sperm donor or surrogate mother should both be listed on the child’s birth certificate, just as it applies to married opposite-sex couples born the same way Have children.

However, state laws and family courts still treat same-sex parents as second-class citizens, forcing them to spend additional time, money, and legal action to obtain legal custody of their children. Even if one state recognizes one parent’s custody rights, another may not.

A lesbian Coloradan, Megan Andersen, told the State Senate that her wife must be fingerprinted at a police station, undergo a state and federal child abuse investigation, pay $1,567 in attorney fees, and then appear before a judge to to plead for the parents’ rights to her and her partner’s child.

“Approval of this bill [will] Remove those barriers while creating a safer and more dignified process … so other families like mine don’t have to maneuver through these complicated, expensive and demoralizing steps,” Andersen said, according to The Montrose Express.

“Governor Polis’ signature on this bill is a significant step forward in ensuring legal recognition of the parent-child relationship for children conceived with reproductive assistance,” said Sarah Warbelow, legal director of the Human Rights Campaign, in a statement.

“The modernization of the laws will benefit many LGBTQ+ people in Colorado as they become parents and start families,” Warbelow’s statement continued. “By removing barriers to the legal recognition of parenthood, legislators strengthen families and provide children with more security. We applaud Gov. Polis for taking action to support all families in Colorado and celebrate this win for the LGBTQ+ community.”