Nashville, Tennessee -
A gay father has been ordered by the Tennessee Court of Appeals to ensure that his son is not "subjected to the gay lifestyle" but ruled that it was wrong for a lower court to send him to jail for telling the boy he is gay.
In a seven page ruling the judges said that a Williamson County court did not err when it barred Joe Hogue from ''taking the child around or otherwise exposing the child to his gay lover(s) and/or his gay lifestyle.''
The ruling stemmed from a messy divorce between Hogue and his ex-wife. Cher Lynn Hogue filed for divorce in 2002 after her husband came out and left the home. A divorce court, in a temporary restraining order, agreed with her that the couple's son, who was 9 at the time, should not be exposed to "a gay lifestyle".
Later that year Cher Hogue returned to court and in a complaint accused her ex husband of violating the court direction by allowing the child to be in the presence of Joe Hogue's partner at his home and in church.
The complaint alleged Hogue told the boy that ''when someone is gay, they are born like that.'' He told his son that he was old enough to understand, and that his partner was in love with him.
The court found Hogue in violation of the restraining order and sentenced him to two days in Williamson County Jail in September 2002. The court also took away some of his visitation rights.
Hogue appealed, saying the restraining order was illegal, overly broad and had expired by the time he told his son he was gay.
The appeals court said it found nothing wrong with the lower court direction that Hogue prevent the boy from being "exposed" to homosexuality, but that Hogue had acted reasonably by simply telling his son he was gay.
In a written ruling the court said that the restraining order wasn't specific enough for the father to know that he was barred from telling his son about his sexual orientation.
In an interview with the Tennessean newspaper Hogue said he thought it was necessary to tell his son about his sexuality after the child began asking him tough questions and said that others were telling him his father's soul was destined for damnation. Hogue said he felt he needed to clear the air.
''We are in the belt buckle of the Bible Belt, and it was tough. I used to eat lunch once a week with my son at school. But everyone kind of hated me all of a sudden.''
A producer in the Christian music field said as a result of the notoriety over the case many Christian artists refuse to work with him.
©365Gay.com® 2004
In a seven page ruling the judges said that a Williamson County court did not err when it barred Joe Hogue from ''taking the child around or otherwise exposing the child to his gay lover(s) and/or his gay lifestyle.''
The ruling stemmed from a messy divorce between Hogue and his ex-wife. Cher Lynn Hogue filed for divorce in 2002 after her husband came out and left the home. A divorce court, in a temporary restraining order, agreed with her that the couple's son, who was 9 at the time, should not be exposed to "a gay lifestyle".
Later that year Cher Hogue returned to court and in a complaint accused her ex husband of violating the court direction by allowing the child to be in the presence of Joe Hogue's partner at his home and in church.
The complaint alleged Hogue told the boy that ''when someone is gay, they are born like that.'' He told his son that he was old enough to understand, and that his partner was in love with him.
The court found Hogue in violation of the restraining order and sentenced him to two days in Williamson County Jail in September 2002. The court also took away some of his visitation rights.
Hogue appealed, saying the restraining order was illegal, overly broad and had expired by the time he told his son he was gay.
The appeals court said it found nothing wrong with the lower court direction that Hogue prevent the boy from being "exposed" to homosexuality, but that Hogue had acted reasonably by simply telling his son he was gay.
In a written ruling the court said that the restraining order wasn't specific enough for the father to know that he was barred from telling his son about his sexual orientation.
In an interview with the Tennessean newspaper Hogue said he thought it was necessary to tell his son about his sexuality after the child began asking him tough questions and said that others were telling him his father's soul was destined for damnation. Hogue said he felt he needed to clear the air.
''We are in the belt buckle of the Bible Belt, and it was tough. I used to eat lunch once a week with my son at school. But everyone kind of hated me all of a sudden.''
A producer in the Christian music field said as a result of the notoriety over the case many Christian artists refuse to work with him.
©365Gay.com® 2004
This article originally appeared on 365gay.com. Republished with permission.
