LESBIAN MOTHER DENIED CUSTODY

In a closely divided 4-3 ruling, the Virginia Supreme Court denied Sharon Bottoms custody of her three-year-old Tyler Doustou, declaring her to be an unfit mother because she is a lesbian. Tyler had been placed under his grandmother's care two years ago by a lower court. The decision was reversed last June by the Virginia Court of Appeals, which ruled that a parent's private, though illegal, sexual conduct is not grounds for losing custody. In today's ruling, the high court stated that Bottom'slesbian relationshipcreated a home evironment that would bring her son undue "social condemnation."