Tyler Doustou enjoyed playing with his parents like any other two-year-old. He loved to play catch with the parent he called “Da-Da.” He was not shy about giving kisses to his mommy. But one day in 1993 his maternal grandmother, Kay Bottoms, sued for custody of Tyler, alleging that her daughter’s lesbianism made her an unfit parent.

Henrico County (Virginia) Circuit Court judge Buford M. Parsons Jr. concurred. He ruled that Sharon Bottoms was a criminal because she “admitted in this court that she is living in an active homosexual relationship,” an activity that violates Virginia’s laws against sodomy. Explaining his decision to grant custody of Tyler to Kay Bottoms, Parson wrote that “the mother’s conduct is illegal. . . . Her conduct is immoral and . . . renders her an unfit parent.” Sharon Bottoms was allowed visitation rights two days a...