Good parents
As a result, lesbian mothers sometimes move to "friendlier" states or communities, including Seattle and Portland.
Many lesbian couples also consider that their children's well-being before they conceive, including the impact of not having a male role model in the home. Couples also worry that their children would be teased at school or the playground.
"We would have never had Carson if we had thought she would be bullied or have a hard time," said Liz Viggiano, a Portland nurse, rocking her 10-month-old daughter to sleep.
Studies show lesbian parents are doing a good job. "Absolutely, these kids do fine," said Dr Nanette Gartrell, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, who is in the 18th year of a study on lesbian families created by donor insemination.
Sometimes the children themselves put the whole controversy into perspective. Gelnaw said her son Zack decided on his own to stop giving interviews by the age
of 12.
"Time magazine wanted to talk with him. He usually enjoyed doing the interviews, but we discussed it and he said `No, I don't want to do it. I'm just a kid with parents, there is nothing to talk about.'"
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