In a unanimous opinion joined by the court’s Republican-appointed justices, the Minnesota Supreme Court today upheld a trial court order that a woman should be allowed visitation with the two children she helped raise with her lesbian partner of 22 years.
The trial court’s order was based on a Minnesota statute allowing third parties to petition for “reasonable” visitation if the person has lived with the children at least two years. Unlike “grandparent visitation” statutes in other states, the Minnesota law places no restriction on the legal or biological relationship of the third party to the children.
The facts of the case illustrate the realities of family life for hundreds of thousands of gay couples and their children in the country. From the court’s description of the background facts:
[Marilyn] Johnson and [Nancy] SooHoo, who lived together and jointly owned a house in Minneapolis, ended a 22-year relationship in the fall of 2003. During the course of that relationship, Johnson adopted two children from China. When Johnson adopted the first child, both she and SooHoo traveled to China. When Johnson adopted the second child, SooHoo remained in Minneapolis and cared for the first child while Johnson went to China. SooHoo did not adopt either of the children, but the record indicates that Johnson and SooHoo co-parented the children, recognized themselves as a family unit with two mothers, and represented themselves to others as such. For example, SooHoo took maternity leave to care for both children upon their arrival in the United States. SooHoo also participated in the selection of child-care providers and schools for the children and shared in the daily parenting responsibilities, including dropping off and picking up the children from day care, helping with school projects and homework, preparing meals for the family, taking the children to doctors appointments (including authorizing the children