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The decision overturns a 1996 ruling by
Henrico County Circuit Judge Buford Parsons,
which stipulated that Bottoms could only visit
with her son, Tyler Doustou, in her own home and
only when her cohabiting partner, April Wade,
was not present. Parsons also barred any con­
tact—even by telephone—between Wade and
Bottoms’ son.
The appeals panel, however, ruled Parsons
had misapplied a decade-old precedent denying a
gay father’s domestic partner visitation with his
child, and ordered the judge to reconsider the
case.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which is
providing legal representation for Bottoms, says
the decision is the first by a higher court in
Virginia to explicitly rule that a person’s sexual
orientation alone is insufficient grounds to restrict
or deny visitation.
The case attracted nationwide attention in
1993 when Bottoms’ mother successfully sued
for custody of Doustou. In August 1996, Bottoms
gave up her fight to win back custody in order to
focus on securing greater visitation.
According to a press statement from the ACLU,
the vast majority of U.S. states no longer deny
visitation or custody based on a parent’s sexual
orientation, a trend which has been fueled by the
growing body of research showing that a parent’s
sexuality has no effect on the child’s well-being.
Three big companies board
benefits bandwagon
The Wall Street Journal reports that J.P. Mor­
gan & Co. will be the first major financial services
firm to offer medical and dental benefits to same-
sex domestic partners of its U.S. employees. The
Journal reports that other Wall Street firms con­
sidering introducing benefits for same-gender
couples include Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan
Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co. and
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Herbert J. Hefke, head of human resources at
J.P. Morgan, told the newspaper the company
expects a small number of employees to take
advantage of the new benefits when they are made
available in December, resulting in “minimal cost
implications.”
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports
that two San Francisco-based banks, Wells Fargo
Bank and Union Bank, will offer health and dental
benefits to same-sex and unmarried heterosexual
partners beginning in January, though neither will
go as far as Bank of America, which in March
extended benefits to adult siblings, parents and
grandparents as well as domestic partners and
their children.
All three banks acted in response to a San
Francisco ordinance which denies city contracts
to companies that do not provide equal benefits
for gay and straight employees.
Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Union
Bank are California’s first-, second- and third-
largest banks respectively, with branches in many
other western states.
Episcopalians apologize,
reach out to queers
At the end of its General Conference held in
July in Philadelphia, the Episcopalian Church
officially apologized to gay men and lesbians for
“years of rejection and maltreatment by the
church,” reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. The
resolution, issued at the 2.5 million-member
denomination’s 72nd annual meeting, read in
part: “We look forward to these words of apology
being translated into deeds of tolerance and inclu­
sion.” The apology passed overwhelmingly in
both the House of Bishops and the House of
Deputies.
The denomination also voted to study the
possibility of blessing same-sex unions, agreed to
extend insurance benefits to domestic partners,
defeated attempts to prohibit ordination of sexu­
ally active gay clergy, and elected a presiding
bishop, Frank T. Griswold 3d, 59, who is sympa­
thetic to gay and lesbian issues.
Conservative elements within the church are
unhappy with the apology and other resolutions.
On the same day the apology was read to the
assembled church representatives, Bishop James
Stanton of Dallas, Texas, read an opposition state­
ment affirming traditional stands on sexuality and
the ordination of women. Stanton expressed soli­
darity with others who are pained by “sexual
practices clearly at odds with the whole of the
biblical pattern.”
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E-world civil rights in
danger, activists warn
An article in the July 30 issue of Communica­
tions Daily reveals a planned meeting between
America Online Chairman Steve Case and right-
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wing, pro-censorship organizations, according to
an ACT UP-Washington media advisory.
The Christian Coalition, Enough is Enough
and the Partnership for a Drug Free America are
among the groups invited to the October meeting
with the country’s largest Internet service pro­
vider. Case called the confab in reported hopes of
reaching an agreement on “content issues.”
Angered by Case’s failure to invite progres­
sive civil rights and gay and lesbian rights organi­
zations, ACT UP’s Steve Michael says, “We call
on Steve Case to stand up for the First Amend­
ment. Hundreds of thousands of gay men, lesbi­
ans and people with AIDS are currently AOL
members. To marginalize an entire community
by cutting deals with our sworn enemies is unac­
ceptable.”
ACT UP Washington and other D.C.-based
groups are organizing around the planned meet­
ing and are calling on AOL members to voice
their opinions on the m atter to Case
(SteveCase@aol.com).
M eanwhile NewsPlanet reports that
CompuServe, which is the second-largest ISP in
the United States and has 5.4 million users world­
wide, announced that, as of Aug. 5, gay and
lesbian content has been moved to its adults-only
area, where users must prove their status and use
a special password—this despite the fact that
CompuServe offers screening options for parents
who want to control their kids’ surfing.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defa­
mation is holding an ongoing dialogue with pro­
ducers of filtering software about the ethics of
treating everything gay as a suitable target for
restriction.
Compiled by Christopher D. Cuttone
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