California children could legally have more than two parents under a bill lawmakers sent to Gov. Jerry Brown.
Senate Bill 1476 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, crossed its last legislative hurdle Wednesday, when the Senate approved it on a concurrence vote of 21-13.
The bill is necessary, Leno has said, because of the way society is changing from surrogate births, same-sex parenthood and assisted reproduction. Those scenarios create new possibilities for the parent-child relationship, which could be challenged in the case of divorce. Under SB 1476, a judge could split custody, child support or visitation rights among three or more people who had acted as parents to the child.
Opponents, including the Traditional Values Coalition, criticized Leno's bill as a move by a leader in the gay-marriage movement to redefine family structure.
– Laurel Rosenhall, Bee Capitol Bureau
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