Arizona LGBTQ Victory: State Supreme Court Says A Parent Is A Parent

A lesbian in Arizona won a major victory for the LGBTQ community when the state's highest court ruled Tuesday that she is entitled to the same parental rights as any other person even though the Arizona law doesn't agree.

The woman - who is getting divorced from her spouse - was suing for parental rights because while Arizona says that the man in a marriage is assumed to be the father of any child born within 10 months of marriage, the law makes no provision for artificial insemination or marriages involving same-sex couples.

In this case, the child was born by artificial insemination. (For more local news, subscribe to the Phoenix Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts).

Chief Justice Scott Bales wrote that given the ruling in the Obergefell case by the United States Supreme Court in which the court legalized same-sex marriage, the state can't "deny the same benefits of marriage afforded opposite-sex couples.

"Legal parent status is, undoubtedly, a benefit of marriage."

The court's opinion went further, telling the legislation it needs to update scores of statutes that refer to couples as being a man and woman or husband and wife up to date and make them consistent with the Obergfell ruling.

The legislature must "ensure that Arizona law guarantees same-sex spouses the dignity and equality the Constitution requires ― namely, the same benefits afforded couples in opposite-sex marriages."

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