A bill under consideration by California lawmakers would allow children to have more than two parents.
The bill, SB 1476, introduced by Sen. Mark Leno (D) from San Francisco, amends California’s current two-parent-per-child law to allow for several of them to protect the best interests of the child.
The additional parents would have to meet a court-established definition of a parent, according to Leno.
“The bill brings California into the 21st century, recognizing that there are more than Ozzie and Harriet families today,” Leno told the Sacramento Bee.
The bill is not meant to expand the definition of who can qualify as a parent, but rather to eliminate the limit of two per child, he said.
Leno said inspiration for the bill came from a 2011 state appellate court case in which a young girl had two mothers. When one of the mothers was sent to prison and the other was hospitalized, the girl’s biological father wished to care for her.
The court, however, ruled the biological father could not be a legal guardian because of California’s current law allowing only two parents per child.
The state took custody of the child.
Leno said the law would have limited application in California and is similar to legislation already present in other states – Delaware, Maine and Pennsylvania – and the District of Columbia.
SB 1476 passed in the Senate in late May and is scheduled to be considered by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on July 9.
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TXT 24
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