Yesterday was about a proposed change in Fault Grounds in Mississippi law. Today is about a far different change…

House Bill 714, hb0714in, seeks to declare a presumption that a child’s best interests is NOT served by being placed in the custody of a homosexual person, even if it’s the biological Parent.

Regardless of one’s political and/or religious views this would create significant problems in the law.  The law currently recognizes a concept called the Natural Parent Presumption.  This means that a Natural Parent is the best parent to raise their own child as they deem best.  This is well founded, accepted law. Additionally, you have a Constitutional Right, as a parent, to raise your child as you best see fit, assuming you are neither neglecting nor abusing your child.

The problem that HB 714 creates is that it will in fact require a Court to conclude that a parent is presumptively fit and unfit if that parent was the natural parent and homosexual. It ignores the fact that a homosexual can be a biological parent triggering the Natural Parent Presumption, it creates a presumption of unfitness based solely on sexual orientation with NO criteria of whether that parent “acts” on said orientation and it provides no litmus test for homosexuality. This also ignores the fact that a Court may already consider the morals of parents and take that into considerations when determining Custody. It assumes bad parenting when there is no reasonable basis to do so (Click for Real Bad Parenting).

This appears, at best, to be election year pandering and, at worst, an unconstitutional restraint on a Parent’s Right to Parent. This would not withstand a Constitutional  challenge, in my opinion. And, is another reason that MS will catch ridicule as being so Heavenly Focused that we’re no Earthly good.

Matthew Thompson is a Child Custody Lawyer in Mississippi and believes that the Albright Custody Factors allow for the Court to consider ALL issues that the Court deems necessary to determine custody of a child- and that’s a fact!

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You may also contact Matthew with your family law case, question or concern at (601) 850-8000 or Matthew@bowtielawyer.ms.