Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 48, Ed. 1 Friday, April 13, 2007 Page: 15 of 64
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regionalnews
Court upholds boy's removal
from lesbian mom s custody
Arkansas appeals panel says placement with father was not
due to woman's sexuality, but instability in the home
By Anrew DeMillo Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Court of
Appeals ruled Wednesday, April 11, that the deci-
sion to remove a child from his lesbian mother's
custody was not related to the woman's sexual
orientation but to instability in the home.
Judges upheld a lower court decision to
remove Lisa Holmes' 8-year-old son from her
custody and place him with his father, Joseph
Holmes.
A Union County Circuit Court in 2005 decid-
ed to change custody and ruled that Lisa Holmes
had violated a court order following the divorce
that neither parent cohabitate outside of mar-
riage. The court also said Lisa Holmes had a
"lack of residential, employment, financial and
moral stability."
In her appeal, Holmes argued that her sexual
orientation should have had no bearing on the
lower court's decision.
According to the ruling, Lisa and Joseph
Holmes divorced in 2001 and the court allowed
Poll: Majority
in Ark. don t
want gay foster
ban on ballot
Results aren't scientific, but
67 percent say they are opposed
Associated Press
A majority of the people who responded to a
newspaper's online poll do not believe an initia-
tive banning gays and lesbians from being foster
or adoptive parents should be put on the ballot in
Arkansas, the newspaper reported this week.
The Baxter Bulletin Online Poll asked: "Do
you think Arkansas voters should be given an
opportunity to vote on whether or not gays
should be barred from being foster parents or
adopting children?"
The newspaper posted the poll question after
Sen. Shawn Womack's bill to prohibit gays and
unmarried couples from serving as foster parents
or adopting children failed to clear the House
Judiciary Committee, prompting the Arkansas
Family Council to express interest in pursuing
the issue and possibly getting it on the 2008 bal-
lot.
Altogether, the Baxter Bulletin reported, there
were 513 votes in the poll. Of those, 345 — 67.3
percent — opposed putting the issue on the gen-
eral election ballot. There were 168 votes —
32.7 percent — in favor of making it a ballot
See POLL on PAGE 16
Lisa Holmes to keep custody of their son if she
agreed to no longer live with her fiancee outside
of marriage.
At a 2005 hearing, Lisa Holmes admitted she
had had six sexual partners, three men and three
women since the divorce and that her son had
met all of her partners.
At the time of the hearing, Lisa Holmes was
living with her first cousin and romantic partner,
Kimberly Duncan. Joseph Holmes, meanwhile,
had remarried, according to the ruling.
Lisa Holmes told the court that she received
$129 a month in food stamps and that Duncan
received $226 in stamps a month. She said that
she worked as a substitute teacher at South
Arkansas Community College and at Union
School, but could not estimate her monthly
income. She also said she did not know when she
would be called upon to teach, the ruling said.
Joseph Holmes argued that his son living with
See COURT on PAGE 16
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HUMAN
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CAMPAIGN
2nd Legislative Priority for 2007:
Hate Crimes Prevention Act
As you know, HRC was instrumental in electing a fair-minded
Congress last fall.
NOW IT'S TIME TO ACT!
This month HRC has successfully influenced the introduction of
the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act to the
House.
The act simply adds sexual orientation and gender identity
to existing definitions of hate crimes, giving local law enforce-
ment the funds it needs to investigate and prosecute hate
crimes.
• 64% of GLBT are concerned about becoming the victim of a
hate crime.
• In 2005, the FBI received over 1,000 reports of hate crimes
from gays and lesbians.
• 74% of Americans support hate crime legislation that includes
sexual orientation.
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04.13.07 I dallas voice I 15
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Nash, Tammye. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 48, Ed. 1 Friday, April 13, 2007, newspaper, April 13, 2007; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth238956/m1/15/: accessed May 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.