So much for the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
They do things a bit different in Texas apparently. Mr. Flowers can not leave his children with his spouse.:
William Flowers married Jim Evans last year in Connecticut. At the time, William’s ex-wife had full custody of the children with William getting regular visitation with them.
Those that are homopobic like to make things up as they go along. It is like Mad-libs legal edition:
When William’s ex-wife’s lawyer was interviewed about it, she claimed it was common and referred the reporter to Teresa Waldrop, a member the of the Family Law sections of the State Bar of Texas and Houston Bar Association – Waldrop admitted to never having seen an injunction such as this and referred the reporter to Austin Family Law Attorney Jennifer Cochran.
Just because his husband is male the law in Houston thinks he will be a danger to the children, statistics and actual science be damned:
A Houston judge entered an order on June 24 which prohibits a father from leaving his children alone with any man they aren’t related to “by blood or adoption.” Because there
was no allegation of abuse in the case,
family law practitioners say the order is an unheard of infringement on the rights of parents and a judicial condemnation of the fact that the man, William Flowers, is not only gay but married to his partner, Jim Evans.
Because homophobes get to repeat these sorts of lies unimpeded people like this judge believe them:
Stereotypes, misconceptions, bigotry and fear of lesbians, gays and their families abound. There is, for example, a widespread belief held by many opponents of gay rights that homosexual men are more likely to molest children than heterosexuals. Though the belief is utterly false and based on nothing but animus toward gays, extremists have combined scientific quackery and bigoted rhetoric to paint gays as pedophiliac sex junkies. A corollary and equally laughable belief — usually promoted by self-parodying hysterical bigots — holds that gays and lesbians engage in campaigns to recruit children into the “homosexual lifestyle.”
Too bad these kids can't understand why they can't be alone with someone that loves their Dad:
Waldrop suggested that Austin family law attorney Jennifer Cochran might have greater insight. After being read the injunction, Cochran said that not only had she never seen such an order, the provision is “just not reasonable.” The fact that William can’t leave the children alone with any man to whom they aren’t related by blood or adoption “strikes at the very heart of the fact that he’s gay…it’s judicial activism, legislating from the bench,” and has nothing to do with protecting the best interests of the children, said Cochran.