BOISE, Idaho (AP) – The Idaho Supreme Court ruled that sexual orientation should not be the basis for custody decisions, but still denied a gay father’s bid for custody.

Gay-rights advocates hailed the decision as a guide for future custody cases, but expressed disappointment that it did not help Theron McGriff gain custody of his two daughters.

The court said in a prepared statement that sexual orientation should be considered for custodial purposes only if the orientation is shown to cause harm to the child.

“Sexual orientation, in and of itself, cannot be the basis for awarding or removing custody,” the court said.

But in its 4-1 ruling, the Supreme Court said there was still sufficient evidence to support a county magistrate’s 2002 conclusion that McGriff’s ex-wife, Shawn Weingartner, was best suited for sole custody of the children.

The high court agreed with the magistrate that McGriff’s children were having difficulty handling joint custody arrangements, and that the Idaho Falls man’s refusal to communicate directly with his ex-wife provided a sufficient basis to consider changing the custody arrangement.

The magistrate ruled that McGriff can see his daughters only if he does not live with his male partner of eight years. That restriction stands.

Weingartner said she feared the children would suffer backlash from the conservative, heavily Mormon town because of their father’s sexuality, and that she wanted McGriff to undergo counseling over how to present his lifestyle to the girls.

McGriff claimed homosexuality should be given no more weight when determining child custody than other factors such as religion or health.

McGriff’s legal advisers, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said he was unable to speak with reporters immediately following the ruling.

“He’s too upset to talk to the press today. He’s devastated,” said Shannon Minter, an attorney with the San Francisco-based organization.

“The Idaho Supreme Court has articulated a wonderful principle which, going forward, will protect gay and lesbian parents,” Minter said. “But they turned a blind eye to the record in this case.”

Minter said the Idaho court is the first state court to address sexual orientation in a custody proceeding since the Supreme Court’s landmark 2003 ruling that found bans on sodomy to be unconstitutional.

Marie Tyler, an attorney for Weingartner, said her client was pleased with the decision.

“The court saw the issue as we saw it,” Tyler said. “I have felt all along that this was a case of child custody rather than gay rights.”

Tyler said McGriff still has substantial and unsupervised time with his daughters, including many weekends, holidays and summer vacations.

The lone dissenter in the decision, Justice Wayne Kidwell, wrote that the lower court abused its discretion by considering McGriff’s sexual orientation at all.