New laws and procedures are put into place in cases with no precedents previously set by other
cases. The world is constantly changing and growing around us, and because of this, there will be many
cases where no precedents were previously set. Incidents like this are called “cases of first impression”
requiring other areas of the law and sources to come into place (Lamond, 2016). The case that is being
presented will have analogies drawn between them and other areas and once a decision has been made
it will become precedential.
The discussion of gay marriage and child custody offers different aspects that need looking into
prior to making any decisions in court cases. Similar aspects of other cases can be applied in these
instances; however, ultimately, new precedents will be set. Florida settled that the sexual orientation of
a parent does not affect the custody rights of a child. However, proof of harm by a parent was the only
thing that could hinder a custody decision. In Maradie vs. Maradie (1996), Port explained that the
parent’s behavior had a direct impact on the livelihood of the child and that the “mere possibility” of
harm was sufficient (Sakimura, 2020). In the case of Packard vs. Packard (1997), the decision that
granted the father custody of the child due to the mother's sexual orientation was reversed by the court
and clarified that when considering a mother's sexual orientation, the behavior of the mother needs to
be the primary factor when deciding custody (Sakimura, 2020). In Jacoby vs. Jacoby (2000), the dental
custody to the father was reversed by the trial courts due to the trial court improperly relying on the
possibility of third-party bias against a mother’s sexual orientation (Sakimura, 2020). Lawrence vs. Texas
(2003), the US Supreme Court decided that people can have same-sex intimacy and held that individuals
have a constitutional tact and privacy right to enter an intimate relationship with someone of the same
gender. Florida courts have not addressed this issue, and, likely, Lawrence could possibly prevent a court
from restricting a parent’s custody or visitation based solely on that parent’s involvement in a
constitutionally protected relationship with somebody of the same gender, just like how Florida courts
prevent courts from restricting custody or visitation based on a parent’s religion (Sakimura, 2020).
New precedents for current issues have been formed as seen in the previous cases. When
precedents are unknown, it is important to dive into similar cases that can be utilized to develop a new
law. If the students were judges, there’s a possibility that they would roll often, in a biased way.
Students will not have enough experience from prior cases to make the judges' appropriate decisions.
Even though students are possibly more up-to-date on research, judges have the background experience
and update themselves with current research to make the best decision with the current case.
The Lord constantly states throughout the Bible how precious children are to him and the world.
Children are gifts from God, and he cares for them deeply. The Lord mentions in Psalm 123:3, “Children
are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” (The Busy Mom’s Bible, 2011, Psalm 123:3). In the
world today, there is so much hate towards those of the LGBTQ community. Some people believe they
do not deserve to be parents because of who they love, which is wrong. As a forensic psychology major
and a prior psychology undergraduate student, I have read up on cases where children were abused and
killed by their biological parents. There have been heartbreaking cases of abuse, selfishness, and
vengeful actions that have taken the lives of innocent children. The system has failed so many children
to the Point where because the system did not get involved like it should have, those children lost their
lives. Despite a parent’s sexual orientation, it should not matter whether they are gay, straight, bisexual,
transgender, etc., the only thing that matters is the well-being of the child. There needs to be a major
reform in Child protective services. If that child is known to be in danger by their own blood parents,
even if it is their adoptive parents or even foster parents, those parents need to lose custody of that
child. That child should be given to somebody who will love them and take care of them no matter what
those parents' sexual orientation is. The Lord says that we are to love our neighbors, including people
who are part of the LGBTQ community. We have no right to judge them, and we have no right to say
that they should not be parents just because of their sexual orientation. Thoughts like this, the thought
that because somebody is gay or transgender, etc., are why so many kids end up being murdered by
their own parents and have no chance at life because it has been stolen from them due to the system
failing them.
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