Back in the early to mid-1990’s, I did the reported case in Ohio that found for the first time that the court has to look at, not the sexual identity or sexual preference of a mother or father; they have to look at the harmful effect. That became one of the first reported cases in Ohio to allow the court to have a guideline as to what to look at when a gay couple or parent stood before them looking for sole custody or shared parenting.
After that, in Ohio, it was reported as a “case of precedent.” That means that other lower courts, then, around the State of Ohio, would refer back to that case to determine what the guidelines should be for courts when they are dealing with a gay parent coming forward on issues of custody or shared parenting.