Ruling Returns Custody of Sons to Gay Father

RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Court of Appeals returned custody of two young boys to their gay father Tuesday, ruling that there was no evidence he exposed them to “improper influences” by living with a male lover, as cited by a lower court.

The appeals court overturned the lower ruling that had transferred the boys from Frederick Smith to his former wife.

Smith won custody of the boys, ages 8 and 11, after he and his wife divorced in California in 1991. Under the previous decision, they have been living with their mother, Carol Pulliam, in Kansas since June 1995.

Pulliam’s attorney, Phillip Jackson, said the ruling would be appealed to the state Supreme Court. He did not know if the children would be returned from Kansas immediately.