Vermont Family Court Judge William Cohen has given ex-gay activist Lisa Miller 30 more days to appear in court with her 7-year-old child or face a contempt of court finding and possible arrest, according to The Roanoke Times.
Since 2004, Miller has violated repeated court orders to permit visitation by her ex-partner, Janet Jenkins. Late last year, Miller was finally ordered to surrender custody of their daughter to Jenkins, to ensure that their daughter Isabella enjoys her right to know both parents.
Miller violated the custody order on January 1 and disappeared with Isabella, who is now on the missing-children’s list of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Miller’s lawyers at the Liberty Counsel claim not to know their client’s whereabouts, but one of the Liberty Counsel’s attorneys created a Facebook group which supports Miller’s abduction of Isabella and subsequent disappearance.
Since 2004, Miller has violated repeated orders to permit visitation by her ex-partner Janet Jenkins. First, Miller sought refuge in Virginia from Vermont’s family court system, which has jurisdiction over her former union with Jenkins. When Virginia’s Supreme Court effectively ruled last year that Vermont has jurisdiction, Miller continued to violate court orders defending the visitation rights of Isabella and Janet.
Miller’s illegal activities left Vermont with no choice but to transfer custody to Jenkins, effective January 1. Then, it seems, Miller began plotting to go into hiding with Isabella — with the affirmation of Liberty Counsel attorney Rena Lindevaldsen and ex-gay activist Debbie Thurman. The latter pair’s Facebook group affirms the apparent kidnapping as a fundamentalist “Christian” act of “civil disobedience.”
A hearing will be held Friday in Vermont to discuss next steps.
CNN reported yesterday about “former lesbian” Lisa Miller’s abduction of Isabella, and includes 2005 video interviews of Miller and former partner Janet Jenkins.
The misnamed Family Foundation of Virginia is quoted supporting Miller.
Debbie Thurman, ex-gay activist, has deleted her blog titled The Formers following a post in which she affirmed the kidnapping of young Isabella Miller by her non-custodial parent. Thurman had called the apparent parental abduction an act of Christian “civil disobedience” which constituted “true motherhood.”
Truth Wins Out broke the news on Wednesday about Thurman’s support for parental abduction. TWO quoted much of the original post.
The blog LezGetReal discovered the blog deletion last night. The writer of that post, Melanie Nathan, followed up with a humane appeal to Miller and Thurman today.
What follows is a record of most of the comments that appeared on the original post prior to the blog’s deletion. (Read More)
After suffering through the pro-kidnap propaganda unleashed yesterday by ex-gay activist Debbie Thurman, it’s refreshing today to receive some hard facts — albeit sad ones.
Janet Jenkins filed a missing person report in Virginia on Wednesday in hopes of finding her 7-year-old daughter, according to her lawyer.
But it remains to be seen whether she will take custody of her nonbiological child Friday when a court order requiring her former lesbian partner, Lisa Miller, to transfer custody of the child takes effect.
“She hasn’t complied with the court’s orders up to this point. I don’t know why she would now,” said Sarah Star, a Middlebury lawyer representing Jenkins.
The newspaper confirms that the Christian Right’s Liberty Counsel knew “for some time” that Miller had absconded with the child and apparently failed to notify authorities.
However, the Herald also reports:
…Police in Falls Church and Fairfax County in Virginia said they had no record of a missing person report for Isabella or of a report filed by Jenkins.”
“I don’t know what we could do at this point anyway,” Fairfax County police spokeswoman Tawny Wright said. “If she’s still in the legal custody of her mom down here, then she’s not missing.”
Normally, a state such as Virginia is required to honor the family laws of the state which has jurisdiction over a family — in this case, Vermont. But in Virginia, Christian fundamentalists assert that their state’s antigay laws preclude cooperation with the enforcement orders of states whose laws do not comply with their own state’s legislated religion-based bigotry.
The Herald continues:
But University of Richmond Constitutional law professor Carl Tobias said he believes Virginia will enforce the Vermont court’s ruling in accordance with the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdictional Act – an agreement recognized by every state to enforce each other’s child custody orders.
“I think the judiciary down here is very aware of the Vermont court’s order,” Tobias said. “My sense is there’s not a lot of patience down here for additional appeals. The length of time this case has encompassed has been extraordinary. I think you will see Virginia judges treat (same-sex) cases like heterosexual cases and I think they will be more than willing to enforce them. The system doesn’t work if people don’t comply with court orders. I think judges take that seriously.”
Whether Miller will be located and jailed for contempt of court, or prosecuted and imprisoned for apparent kidnapping — legally speaking, a felony charge of “custodial interference” with a potential 5-year jail sentence – remains to be seen.
On the Facebook support group for “ex-gay” poster mom Lisa Miller, several people — including the group’s creator — are praying for the success of Miller’s ongoing contempt-of-court and the apparent kidnapping of her daughter, just days before Miller was due to turn over the seven-year-old Isabella to ex-partner Janet Jenkins.
Ex-gay activist Debbie Thurman, creator of the support group, today cheered the disappearance of Miller sometime earlier this month. Thurman’s blog called this apparent kidnapping an example of “true motherhood”:
So, the blogosphere and the mainstream media are now abuzz with the news that — gasp! — Lisa and Isabella Miller are nowhere to be found, just days before the court-mandated transfer of custody of 7-year-old Isabella to Janet Jenkins. Ya reckon?
Were I in Lisa’s shoes, I could only hope to have the faith and courage she has displayed for the past six years. …
Lisa obeyed God in seeking to raise Isabella in the Christian faith. Isabella learned Scripture, apologetics and the art of prayer at her mother’s knee and in church, to the extent that she found her Christian school Bible classes boring and “childish.” This is an intelligent, precocious 7-year-old, who knows her mind and can speak it. She would have given Janet Jenkins nightmares had she consented to live under the same roof.
I cannot answer the burning question on everyone’s lips: Where are Lisa and Isabella? Somewhere safe, I pray. How and when did they get there? Only God knows. ..
What happens now? A lot of frustration, recrimination and more lies on one side and a collective sigh of relief on the other. The courts still have a huge task set before them, meanwhile. Lisa and Isabella represent only one of many similar cases waiting to be resolved. We need precedents that honor the prevailing states’ rights, laws and constitutions. The majority of Americans overwhelmingly support traditional marriage. If the tyrannical minority wants to push against that, it can and will be met with civil disobedience. There is no other way.
Lisa Miller is a mother who would give up her life to save her child. Of that there is no doubt. She apparently has chosen to forfeit a large measure of her liberty, personal property and pursuit of happiness in assuring that child her God-ordained future, much as a group of patriots pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor more than two centuries ago to establish this nation.
I say God bless and long live Lisa and Isabella Miller. All who have known them are the better for it.
Thurman’s statement seems to confirm allegations that Miller is being used by Thurman and Christian Rightists at the Liberty Counsel as a test case for their Manhattan Declaration, which is a vow to violate any law that fundamentalists happen to disagree with.
Thurman’s statement and those of many others on the Facebook group are saturated with the false piety of people who believe themselves to be unaccountable to any law and answerable only to self-serving reinterpretations of the Bible.
Drew Taggart prays “that people ‘along the way’ are brave enough and smart enough to render the necessary assistance to Lisa and Isabella so this girl can be raised in a healthy environment. I just hope Lisa did her homework and did this disappearing act properly.”
In a subsequent defense of this statement, Taggart says:
I doubt she’ll ever see a day of jail. Once word of this gets out, millions of people are going to be outraged. And there are plenty of local and a few state law enforcement agencies around the country, who will not waste a minute trying to find her. William Cohen is a leftwing hack and this ruling is a joke. Without the support of law enforcement, especially wherever Lisa opts to call her new home, this ruling is going nowhere.
Several other deluded supporters “pray” that the state of Virginia is given a fundamentalist special right to ignore the family-law jurisdiction of other states and to harbor kidnappers and their children.
TWO’s Mike Airhart has written about the drama involving the unscrupulous “ex-lesbian” Lisa Miller who broke up with partner Janet Jenkins after becoming born again.
In a fit of holier-than-thou zeal, Miller went on the lam and absconded from Vermont with the child the couple were raising together after having a Civil Union. (Nothing like teaching a child the family values of honesty, integrity, honoring commitments, law and order and respect for others)
As a result of Miller’s poor parenting and criminal behavior (she was cited for contempt of court), a Vermont court transferred custody to Jenkins (after a five year legal ordeal that will surely leave emotional scars for their child Isabella) and refused a motion to delay transfer, as requested by Miller’s law team.
People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch reports today that the location of Miller and 7-year-old Isabella Miller are presently “unknown”. This is highly problematic because the court order takes effect on New Year’s Day.
Right Wing Watch reports:
The whereabouts of Miller couldn’t be determined on Monday. Jenkins’ attorney, Middlebury lawyer Sarah Star, said she didn’t know where Miller was, but hoped she was still at her home in Virginia and was simply not communicating with her attorneys.
Let us hope this is the case. If Miller continues to flout the law and make a mockery of the system and her parental responsibility, there should be a heavy price to pay. No one is above the law and even fundamentalist fugitives who obstruct and abuse the rules have to suffer the consequences.
If Miller can’t obey the law, than this case should be transferred into the hands of law enforcement officials. Perhaps, some time in the clink will clear Miller’s mind and let her reflect on the miserable morals she has taught her daughter, while she has been dodging her responsibility as a parent and decent human being.
“Ex-gay” activist Debbie Thurman provided an update tonight, via Facebook support group, regarding fellow ex-gay activist Lisa Miller’s five-year bid to flout federal and state laws which protect children from exploitation and kidnapping by deadbeat and non-custodial parents.
Thurman said:
We have news to report from both Vermont and Virginia. First, Judge Cohen did not grant the requested stay of the Jan. 1 transfer of custody. Second, the Virginia Court of Appeals has asked for Liberty Counsel to file a supplemental brief by Jan. 4. The court will respond to the brief by Jan. 18. There will be no ruling on the latest appeal until after that.
As things stand, Miller — who for five years has violated Vermont family-court rulings that she must share visitation rights over her daughter — is required on Jan. 1 to turn over daughter Isabella to former partner Janet Jenkins, due to Miller’s refusal to obey previous court rulings.
Miller’s attorneys at the Christian Right’s Liberty Counsel view the case as an opportunity to turn U.S. states’ family courts against one another, allowing culturally fundamentalist states such as Virginia to disregard the rightful jurisdiction of other states (as well as the religious freedom of co-parents and children) and harbor people who claim that Jesus gives them special permission to be deadbeat parents.
Since Miller remains unwilling to comply with the courts of either Virginia or Vermont, we can expect more unfortunate drama in this case in mid-January.
Meantime, Thurman tonight offered a sickening dose of false piety: Sympathetic “Christmas” prayers for those who exploit Isabella, and cold silence to those who value child welfare and the rule of law.
A Rutland, Vermont, Family Court judge ruled Friday that “ex-gay” activist Lisa Miller, who absconded with her daughter Isabella in 2004 and violated numerous visitation orders since then, must transfer custody to her ex-spouse Janet Jenkins.
The Rutland Herald reported, “In a 21-page order, Judge William Cohen granted sole custody of 7-year-old Isabella Miller to her nonbiological but court-recognized parent, Janet Jenkins.” The transfer will take effect Jan. 1. Jenkins will allow Lisa to visit Isabella and to take Isabella to church events.
Lisa’s complete loss of custody shocked “ex-gay” activist Debbie Thurman, who favors a supposed right of states to harbor deadbeat parents in the name of Christianity — but it should have shocked no one.
For five years, Miller violated court rulings in Vermont and Virginia that agreed upon Vermont’s jurisdiction in the case and therefore affirmed Jenkins’ visitation rights as a co-parent. Had Lisa not made her daughter a pawn in fundamentalist cultural warfare conducted by Jerry Falwell’s Liberty Counsel, and had Lisa simply permitted visitation as required under law, she would have retained custody.
Unfortunately, Lisa, Thurman, and the Liberty Counsel intend to continue using Isabella as a pawn.
The Herald says the LC’s Mathew Staver plans to fight on two fronts:
appealing Cohen’s decision to the Vermont Supreme Court while continuing a battle in the Virginia Court of Appeals regarding the state’s authority to enforce Vermont orders that conflict with Virginia’s laws.
In short, Thurman holds out hope that a Virginia court will violate nationally agreed-upon protocols for the resolution of family-law disputes and continue to allow the state to harbor Isabella against the wishes of Vermont, which holds jurisdiction over the family.
Carl Tobias, University of Richmond professor of law, told The Herald that he didn’t think appeals courts in either state would overturn the decision.
“They’ve already been to that court a couple times now,” he said referring to Virginia’s court of appeals. “There’s a point at which every court gets tired of people litigating when they have no valid case to make.”
Ex-gay activist Debbie Thurman sent a note today to supporters of Lisa Miller, the self-declared ex-gay woman who violated Vermont family-court visitation rulings that favored her ex-partner Janet Jenkins, took her daughter to Virginia in 2004, and continued to violate a series of subsequent state and federal rulings.
Readers may recall that Miller has been championed by Christian Rightists and ex-gay activists for her claimed victory over homosexuality and for violating Jenkins’ visitation rights — even though Miller later admitted that she had not really been sexually attracted to her ex-partner, and therefore she was never really lesbian.
Thurman writes:
In case you haven’t stopped by the Only One Mommy group lately, I wanted to make sure you all knew that Lisa’s Liberty Counsel attorney, Rena Lindevaldsen, announced there that the next appeals hearing in Virginia (addressing enforcement of Vermont’s court orders) will be on Dec. 9. I know you all will want to be praying for a positive outcome.
As Rena said, a favorable ruling from the appellate court in Virginia that is either not challenged or survives a challenge in the Virginia Supreme Court or SCOTUS would effectively mean Lisa and Isabella would be free and no longer bound by Vermont’s dictates. That is potentially very big news.
I also want to take a moment and salute any members who are veterans today. And happy birthday to you (yesterday) if you also happen to be a Marine. In that vein, you may wish to visit my blog and read both today’s and yesterday’s posts. Freedom isn’t free, and we have much to be thankful for. In fact, let me also take this time to wish each of you a happy Thanksgiving upcoming.
Bless you all. Thank you for standing firm in your prayers for this case and for all concerned. Strangely, we still await Vermont Judge Cohen’s delayed ruling on a possible change of custody. Keep praying.
Thurman and the Liberty Counsel both seek to undermine the nation’s family-law system by enabling states to violate one another’s family-court rulings and thus to harbor deadbeat dads, non-custodial parents and their kidnapped kids, and other fugitives from justice.
Far from upholding freedom, Thurman undermines not only the religious freedom but the freedom-to-parent of those who lose their children to lawbreaking ex-spouses.
Isabella Ruth Miller-Jenkins, daughter of 
Debbie Thurman, ex-gay activist, has deleted her blog titled 
After suffering through the 
“Ex-gay” activist Debbie Thurman provided an update tonight, via Facebook support group, regarding fellow ex-gay activist 
