Carolyn Compton’s partner has been ordered to move out of her home, due to a “morals” clause in Carolyn’s divorce decree that states that she can’t cohabitate with another person if she wants to keep custody of her kids. If the partner was straight, Carolyn could get remarried and the morals clause would vanish:
The clause is common in divorce cases in Texas and other states. It prevents a divorced parent from having a romantic partner spend the night while children are in the home. If the couple marries, they can get out from under the legal provision — but that is not an option for gay couples in Texas, where such marriages aren’t recognized. The Dallas Morning News reported that in a divorce hearing last month for Carolyn and Joshua Compton, Collin County District Judge John Roach Jr. enforced the terms detailed in their 2011 divorce papers. He ordered Carolyn Compton’s partner, Page Price, to move out of the home they shared with the Comptons’ two daughters, ages 10 and 13. The judge gave Price 30 days to find another place to live.
This is just another one of those situations where casual discrimination against LGBT people and families is, sadly, very much still the norm in some states, and it’s yet another reason we need full equality on the federal level.
