This mother was banned by a court from telling her children she’s a lesbian
A mother has finally had a ban on revealing her sexuality to her own children lifted.
Rachelle Black filed for divorce from her husband in 2011, after coming out as a lesbian.
Ms Black had been married to the man, Charles, a devout Christian, for 20 years.
When the divorce went to court in Washington state, the father received primary custody of the couple’s sons at the divorce trial in 2013.
In a shocking move, the court banned the woman from telling her own children of her sexual orientation, which it described as “alternative lifestyle concepts”.
Her sexual orientation was also considered a primary reason for giving custody to the father, over her.
The initial divorce trial said that her “lifestyle choice,” such as that she “considers herself to be a lesbian,” conflicted with the religious beliefs of their children, who attended a private Christian school.
She was ordered to refrain from: “Having further conversations with the children regarding religion, homosexuality, or other alternative lifestyle concepts and further, that she be prohibited from exposing the children to literature or electronic media; taking them to movies or events; providing them with symbolic clothing or jewelry; or otherwise engaging in conduct that could reasonably be interpreted as being related to those topics unless the discussion, conduct, or activity is specifically authorized and approved.”
After a six-year battle, a Washington state court has overturned the cruel ban, allowing the mother to be open with her children.
They also accused the first trail of having an “improper bias” in coming to its conclusions.
The initial draconian ruling is thought to have been brought about after she showed one child a film on different attitudes to same-sex marriage among Christians.
The trial report said: Rachelle showed her oldest son a video documentary addressing different Christian attitudes toward same-sex relationships after he asked a question about the issue.
“On another occasion, the second oldest son asked if he could wear a rainbow bracelet Rachelle had with the words ‘love and pride’.”
It comes after the Governor of Alabama was forced to step down for having an affair – after previously lamenting that same-sex couples “undermine marriage”.
In a statement on Monday, the Governor said: “I have decided it is time for me to step down as Alabama’s governor.”
Last year allegations arose that Republican Governor Robert Bentley, a militant believer in ‘traditional’ marriage, had cheated on his wife of 50 years with chief adviser Rebekah Caldwell Mason.
After Bentley flatly denied any such affair, a recording was published in local media in which Governor Bentley appears to be having phone sex.
The Governor, whose affair has since been outlined in some detail, was immediately branded a hypocrite given his crusade against same-sex marriage in the state.
Filing a 2014 legal brief seeking to deny gay couples the rights to marry, his attorneys claimed: “To change Alabama’s definition of marriage by judicial fiat would undermine the integrity of the courts and would alter society’s understanding of marital norms and responsibilities, to the detriment of children and civil society.”
