Chandler Burr with sons Brian (left) and Joseph. Both boys are adjusting well to life in the States,
Burr said. “They’re doing great. They’re in a terrific public school. And over the weekend,
they just saw snow for the first time.” (Chandler Burr via
The Advocate)
American journalist, author and former writer for the
New York Times,
Chandler Burr is headed to the highest court in Colombia, in a international custody battle for the two sons he has already adopted.
Burr had completed the adoption proceedings when he arrived in March to finally retrieve the boys from the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) and bring them home after a years-long process. That is when the trouble started. From Andrew Harmon writing for The Advocate:
After Burr had already finalized the adoption paperwork and received the adoption decree, he urged the official, Ilvia Ruth Cárdenas, who heads the institute’s adoption division, to rethink the country’s position forbidding LGBT parents from “giving these kids the homes and love they need.”
Despite a 1995 Colombian court decision finding that sexual orientation may not be used as a criterion for a prospective parent’s suitability to adopt, the government’s de facto policy has been to categorically deny adoption to gay individuals, whether Colombian or foreign.
“I said, ‘You know me, you know I’ll be a good parent. I’m gay,’” Burr recalled of his conversation with Cárdenas. “And she immediately freaked out. ... I assumed, naively in retrospect, that since the boys were legally mine and she couldn’t take them away legally, even if she was very upset, she wouldn’t break the law. This is exactly what she and ICBF did.”
Cárdenas called the U.S. Embassy and demanded that the boys’ adoption emigration visas be canceled (American officials complied). She then asked an ICBF attorney to initiate an investigation of fraud and perjury by Burr in his adoption process.
He has obtained counsel through the a local advocacy group
Dejusticia.
Thankfully, in a surprise move, the ICBF was forced to relent and allowed the boys to join their father in South Orange, New Jersey on Dec. 12.
During the interviews, the boys showed no objection to their adoptive father’s sexual orientation and stated that they wanted to be with him.
The family judge in charge of the case took into account the opinion of the children, as well as the newly passed anti-discrimination law to rule in favor of Burr.
Unfortunately, the ICBF continues to press for administrative return of the boys to Colombia and the equivalent of the attorney general's office is pursuing perjury and fraud charges against Burr. Says Burr:
"Perjury cannot exist without a question and a dishonest answer. They never asked me about my sexual orientation at any point, so no answer exists,” Burr said. As for claims of fraud, “In eight months they were not able to show, not once, that I committed those crimes,” he said.
Burr has been warned this vindictive prosecution may have very serious consequences, for himself and the custody battle. American LGBT law advocacy organization
Lambda Legal has interfaced with U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State Department on behalf of Burr and the boys.
Dejusticia is pressing forward with the custody case, hoping to create a more substantial, binding precedent of LGBT people's right to adopt in Colombia. In the past, the courts of Colombia have been more friendly territory than not for LGBT citizens of Colombia, affirming domestic partnership rights, a right to military service and public school teaching positions. The case may be decided in the next three months or longer, depending on whether a panel or full court hearing is called. The decision will be final either way.
Below a Dec. 1, CNN interview with Burr and overview of the case.