The Best Interest of the Child and State Supreme Courts : A Look at Changing (?) Legal Understandings

The status of child custody and adoption rights for GLBTQ individuals varies dramatically by state. This paper seeks to explain some of this variation by examining state Supreme Court decisions regarding the child rearing rights of sexual minorities. I use content analysis to code major court decisions in multiple states, including Florida and Mississippi, in order to trace the development of precedent. I document the multiple ways that the best interest of the child can be employed, including to support and oppose GLBTQ childrearing