A lesbian mother in Alabama has asked the judge presiding over her divorce case to be removed because of his Christian views on homosexuality.
According to AL.com, Tiara Brooke Lycans is unhappy about Judge Shaunathan C. Bell's Christian views, which the news network says are described as 'conservative' in politics and 'Baptist' when it comes to religion.
She has twice petitioned the judge to recuse himself from the divorce case because she thinks his religious views may influence his decision when it comes to the custody of her child.
Twice he has refused to go.
She then took her case to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, citing the fact that he has been a preacher for 15 years, even staying in the position after becoming a judge.
Lycans argued that the judge's 'publicly expressed belief that homosexual relationships and marriages are contrary to God's law' may influence how he rules on the custody of her child from her marriage to Zachary Lycans.
Bell granted joint custody of the child with Mr Lycans in his initial pending ruling.
According to AL.com, he ruled the same way in two other divorce cases involving lesbian mothers.
However, it seems for now, Bell is the judge as the appeals court also turned down Lycans's request for him to be removed from her divorce case on Thursday.
Accoring to RT.com, Bell was sworn in as a judge to the Circuit Court in 2013 and serves as a pastor at Liberty Hill Baptist Church.
The news outlet reports that passages of Scripture were read from the Bible during his swearing-in ceremony.
