Petrelis Files

HRC Board Member Makes Anti-Gay Argument in Lesbian Custody Case

My jaw hit the floor so loudly and hard this morning my boyfriend thought that I needed medical attention. What happened was I came across a story from the Gay People's Chronicle of Ohio that ran on May 4, all about a gay lawyer raising eyebrows over his homophobic arguments in a lesbian child custody lawsuit. But this story is not about just any average gay attorney. Nope, we're talking about one who is a member of the board of directors of America's largest homosexual political organization, the Human Rights Campaign.

From the Gay People's Chronicle article, written by Eric Resnick:

Cleveland--A gay lawyer and community leader is coming under fire for advancing an argument in a Juvenile Court case that would typically be made by anti-gay attorneys trying to deny LGBT rights.

Tim Downing, an openly gay partner at the Cleveland law firm of Ulmer and Berne, is also on the board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign and a statewide LGBT community leader and organizer.

He is representing a biological mother whose case has raised the ire of attorneys trying to advance the rights of LGBT families.

The case itself is unremarkable. Filed in Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court in March, it involves the breakup of a lesbian couple with a three-year-old child. ...

The couple broke up in November. The child is living with the biological mother. She is denying visitation to the non-biological one, who is suing her for visitation rights.

Since the 2002 Ohio Supreme Court decision In re: Bonfield cleared the way for co-parenting agreements between same-sex couples, a network of family law attorneys, many of them lesbians, has grown up. They have advanced cases like this one throughout the state “to educate all of Ohio’s courts on our family issues” as one put it, and to ensure that good case law is created in order to protect LGBT families in the future.

These cases generally rest on the biological parent giving up exclusive custody in favor of a shared arrangement that honors the relationship between the child and the non-biological parent.

In this case, Downing and his associate, Joseph Simms, argue that the non-biological mother has no right to that claim, and that the suit should be dismissed because she is not related by blood or marriage. ...

They argue that, “because [the non-biological mother] cannot allege that she is related to [the child] either by affinity or consanguinity,” Ohio law gives her no standing to bring the suit.

Joan Burda, a lesbian attorney who represents the non-biological mother, said, “The arguments raised [by Downing and Simms] are expected. That’s what needs to be argued for their client to win, but this is the argument you usually see made by the David Langdons of the world.”

Langdon represents the anti-gay group Citizens for Community Values. He filed a brief opposing the Bonfield couple’s co-parenting agreement that raised an issue similar to Downing’s. ...

Downing said he did not become involved in the case until after the firm had already taken it.

He noted that that as a partner, he did not have to take the case.

“I’m doing my job as a lawyer,” said Downing. “Had I been the one originally contacted, I don’t know that I would have taken it.” ...

“I want to see that no arguments get made that are anti-gay or involve sexual orientation,” said Downing. “I got involved to protect our community.”

Asked if he believed that could be an issue, Downing said, “It could be.”

Downing called the parenting arguments advanced by the non-biological mother “a red herring.”

“This is a very simple matter,” said Downing. “It is purely statutory. The state legislature has not given the plaintiff in this case any rights.” ...

“If it takes a wild turn and it looks like it could be harmful to our community, then I will recommend we withdraw from the case,” said Downing. ...

Kudos to the journalists at the Gay People's Chronicle for covering this case. This story is a prime example of why, even though the mainstream media has greatly improved how it reports on LGBT issues and people, we still very much need gay newspapers.