April 23, 1979: Gayle Bezaire, a lesbian mother lost custody of her two children because she moved in with her female lover. Earlier that year, she was granted custody, although it was conditional. The court imposed strict guidelines that would prevent “any open and avowed lesbian or homosexual relationships in the home.” Bezaire appealed to the courts to regain custody but lost despite evidence that the father had been abusing the children. In desperation, she subsequently fled with her children to the US, an act for which she later faced charges.
Reflecting on such cases, one women had the following to say at a 1978 protest against Anita Bryant, who advocated for discrimination of homosexuals:” “To be a lesbian mother is heartbreaking. Today you have them, tomorrow you may not, solely because of who you love.”*
At a time when the Divorce Act included sodomy and homosexual acts as grounds for divorce, coming out publicly as gay or lesbian and then contesting the custody of children was extremely risky. Such parents were commonly seen as subjecting children to a perverted and unnatural lifestyle.** In the courts’ view, homosexuals could have a detrimental effect upon children, making them unsuitable as custodians.
* Wages Due Lesbians
** Warner, Tom. “Never Going Back: A History of Queer Activism in Canada.” Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.
Reflecting on such cases, one women had the following to say at a 1978 protest against Anita Bryant, who advocated for discrimination of homosexuals:” “To be a lesbian mother is heartbreaking. Today you have them, tomorrow you may not, solely because of who you love.”*
At a time when the Divorce Act included sodomy and homosexual acts as grounds for divorce, coming out publicly as gay or lesbian and then contesting the custody of children was extremely risky. Such parents were commonly seen as subjecting children to a perverted and unnatural lifestyle.** In the courts’ view, homosexuals could have a detrimental effect upon children, making them unsuitable as custodians.
* Wages Due Lesbians
** Warner, Tom. “Never Going Back: A History of Queer Activism in Canada.” Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.