Lisa Miller, an 'ex-gay' evangelical Christian who was in a lesbian relationship in Vermont for four years, has abducted the former couple's 7-year-old daughter following a court order awarding sole custody to her former partner.
Miller renounced being gay in 2004 and took the child, Isabella, from Vermont to Virginia. A judge awarded her former partner, Janet Jenkins, liberal visitation rights at the time. However, Miller repeatedly failed to allow Jenkins to visit with Isabella, and appealed the decision. After losing several appeals, she continued to disobey the order, and a judge found Miller in contempt of court on November 20, 2009, awarding Jenkins sole legal custody of Isabella.
The girl was supposed to be handed over to Jenkins on January 1, 2010, but Miller failed to show up and has apparently absconded with Isabella. Miller has reportedly ceased contact with her attorneys.
Jenkins' attorney said, “She's very disappointed, obviously. She's very concerned about Isabella and asks that if anybody sees Isabella, that they please contact the authorities.”
According to Ex-Gay Watch, in a 2008 interview with a right-wing Christian website, Miller accused Jenkins of verbal and physical abuse towards her and neglect of Isabella. Miller also made insinuations of sexual abuse, saying Jenkins took a naked bath with the child, and claimed Isabella had started “openly masturbating.”
Miller called homosexuality a “sin,” and became an evangelical Christian upon ending her relationship with Jenkins. Miller said in court documents, “Isabella knows that Ms. Jenkins' choice to continue to live a homosexual lifestyle is a sin."
Miller now faces possible criminal charges. Miller's last known address was in Forest, Virginia. It's unclear at this time whether or not police will search for Miller and Isabella, although a warrant for her arrest will likely be issued in Vermont for contempt of court.
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Comments
Ex-gay? How is that? I'm totally lost.
You can't abduct your biological daughter. Lisa is a *hero* and the courts have been taken over by lunatics.
Most abductions/kidnappings are by family members, Grace. Lisa is a kidnapper and a criminal.
Mr. Lynch,
You have produced a ridiculously shoddy article.
First, Ms. Miller is the only real/ biological mother of the child.
Second, this case is a total judicial disaster in that Lisa Miller was ALWAYS open to supervised visitation, even after several reportedly bad visitations by Jenkins.
Third, Virginia has failed to enforce its own laws against gay marriage.
Fourth, allegations remain that Ms. Jenkins was neglectful and inappropriate around Isabella Miller.
Next time, do your research so you don't embarrass yourself as you are supposed to be a professional journalist.
Janet Jenkins is evil. However, Lisa Miller made a serious error in agreeing to be artificially inseminated with no father even contemplated for her child. Artificial insemination should not be permitted for same sex couples or unwed couples. Period. The child has rights too, and in a case such as this the rights of the child should be considered PRIOR to conception.
This case sets a terrifying and evil precedent. It is very similar to the Biblical case, in that only one of the women is the biological mother of the child and she is trying to steal it under the law. No law should allow a child to be removed from its biological mother without serious and just cause. This case is bogus, but all the more scary for being treated as if the non-biological 'mother'(NOT) has any right to steal this child. It makes me both enraged and queasy.
To Alena 1960
No one is born 'gay'. It's a political orientation more than anything else. No one is required to acquiesce to all temptations.
Correction. My comment gave the wrong impression. It is Janet Jenkins who is trying to steal a child who is not her own by bogus legal methods.
The criminal here is the legal system who would give a child to a lesbian activists who has no biological connection with the child whose only reason to want her is for political statement.
If this woman were an ex-husband "he" would have never gotten custody. Social engineering place above the welfare of a child. Sick sick sick!!
Lisa is a **hero** who is putting her child's welfare FIRST!
Legally sanctioned kidnapping to promote a political agenda to convince people that perversion is *normal*
Mr. Lynch,
You have produced a ridiculously shoddy article.
First, Ms. Miller is the only real/ biological mother of the child.
Second, this case is a total judicial disaster in that Lisa Miller was ALWAYS open to supervised visitation, even after several reportedly bad visitations by Jenkins.
Third, Virginia has failed to enforce its own laws against gay marriage.
Fourth, allegations remain that Ms. Jenkins was neglectful and inappropriate around Isabella Miller.
Next time, do your research so you don't embarrass yourself as you are supposed to be a professional journalist.
The legal system here is correct. Vermont has a civil union law granting parental rights to both members of the civil union. These women were in a civil union, whether you like it or not. Vermont law had jurisdiction over this couple, the consequences of their union, and their custody dispute. The fact that Miller moved to Virginia did not change jurisdiction (the rules that determine which state has jurisdiction are well settled, especially in family law cases).
Our country relies upon rule of law, and that law is not trumped by personal moral views or religious doctrine. Miller has now violated two separate court orders. She will and should be found in contempt. If we let people get away with violating court orders just because they have a moral disagreement, the entire system becomes anarchy.
"Abduction?!?!'
That is a crime. This lady has HER own daughter and no one has been charged with a crime of any kind. Gee, are you guys looking to get sued?
Mike,
Virginia does not recognize gay marriage/ civil unions whatever you want to call that joke. Lisa Miller is the ONLY mom that kid has. No one in their right mind is going to lift a finger to enforce a bench warrant from a judge with a political axe to grind.
Lisa Miller is gone... I hope she finds some peace and quiet.
Mr. Eric Smith,
You should do the research, on a site other than a right-wing blog. Or you should at least have a rudimentary understanding of the law before spouting off about the law.
Ms. Jenkins is a parent under Vermont law because of the civil union. The biology of the parenthood is irrelevant (just like in heterosexual marriages, the husband is legally presumed to be the father even if he is not the biological father.) She has a right to visitation, supervised visitation is an insult.
I find Miller's accusations of abuse to be very convenient. There is no corroborating evidence anywhere, and the court and DHS apparently didn't buy it.
Lastly, Virginia has no grounds for enforcing its laws because it does not have jurisdiction over the case. Vermont law applies, and Virginia is obliged to execute a Vermont court order because of the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution.
Good for her. I support gay rights, but not before the rights of the biological mother. I hope they are well cared for wherever they are.
This is an abduction as far as the law is concerned, no different than a mother in a heterosexual relationship running off with the kid because she doesn't like the non-biological father that the law recognizes. It is also the violation of a court order and any judge, liberal or conservative, will come down on you HARD for violating a court order in order to vindicate the authority of the court. To do otherwise invites chaos as people only obey court orders when they feel like it.
This case was correctly decided on both substantive and procedural law. If you don't like it, your remedy is to take it up with the Vermont legislature, or to try to get the United States Congress to start the process of amending the U.S. Constitution to repeal the Full Faith and Credit Clause.
Laws that are evil cannot stand for long, except under a tyranny. Would you like Nazi style law to evolve in America. If the law cannot recognize the natural order of things, the law is not enforceable, escept by tyranny. I would flee from such a law too, and with my child if necessary.
Mike,
I have to hand it you. You are certainly well versed in the LGBT catch words/ phrases/ tactics in subverting the US Constitution.
And the only way gay marriage will continue spread is when judges, as they have done in Vermont, Iowa and Mass, SUBVERT the democratic process and enforce new definitions of their state constitutions that no one voted on.
Wait, wait, wait... you are comparing civil unions/same-sex marriage to Nazi-ism? Seriously? Because that displays a complete divorce from reality.
There are plenty of state and federal laws I disagree with, but that doesn't make them tyranny or Nazi-ism. But calling this tyranny is especially funny, as the civil union law was passed by the freely elected legislature of Vermont, and has stood up after subsequent elections. And full faith and credit is what keeps us together as a coutry. We may as well be 50 separate countries without it.
Lisa is a criminal. When she is caught, I don't she will be spending much more time with her daughter. What a stupid mistake she has made. She will live to regret it when her daughter is taken away from her permanently and she ends up in jail for child kidnapping.
Eric Smith is a FINE example of this heterosexual 'morality' we all keep hearing them scream their silly little heads off about. Apparently Eric Smith is a heterosexual that feels that the law does not apply in 'certain' cases.
Eric Smith is embarassing the decent people of this country who realize that civil law applies equally to all people. 'Christians' are not excluded from the law, moron. But we are more than happy to exclude you from decent moral society.
@Patrick.
No Lisa Miller isn't a criminal, Judge William Cohen is and should be dealt with accordingly for attempting to deposit Isabella Miller in a potentially abusive situation. Do you guys really think it will help 'gay rights' to have a seven year old girl ripped from her only REAL mom on national TV?
Cohen needs to be removed from the bench and disbarred for supposedly ignoring so much evidence during the course of these trials.
This case just proves what I've thought all along...that gays tend to cheer what most other people deplore. Gays step outside the circle of life and should not be allowed to warp that circle.
Once you step off the circle of life, you lose concern for posterity.
Bill,
Lisa Miller is the ONLY biological parent that is recognized. The needs of Isabella are being completely ignored in forcing the girl to live with Janet Jenkins. No one has ever legally challenged Lisa competence as a parent.
What does religion have to do with any of that?
Eric,
Vermont's civil union (now same sex marriage) law was passed by the legislature, just like same-sex marriage in New Hampshire. It wasn't the result of a court order.
But leaving that aside, the Iowa and Mass rulings are quite legitimate. The law has a process for evaluating equal protection claims, and I know that in Iowa at least the equal protection clause in the state constitution is quite strong. Because the constitution is the supreme law of the land it trumps any other law to the contrary. When equal protection analysis is applied to same-sex marriage in an honest manner, this is the result. (The Iowa opinion was unanimous after all, and written by a very conservative jurist.)
This is the way constitutional law works, and has worked throughout our country. If you don't like it,I suggest you try to change the constitution. Myself, I think full faith and credit is too valuable to get rid of, even if I don't like the consequences sometimes.
Mike,
Paint it any way you like, but subversion is subversion. You can speak respectfully of their process in making a decision, but when people want power, in this case the radical gays rights crowd, they have been known to use any means necessary to get what they want.
How many of these judges who voted for these bizarre rulings were bought off, threatened, intimidated? We'll never know...
Bought off, threatened, or intimidated? Really? Those are pretty serious charges. Not terribly familiar with the judicial process, I'm assuming? But its nice to see you revert to baseless accusations and assumptions just because you have no well-informed answer.
Year after year, Iowa is rated one of the states with the least corruption in its political system. Moreover, the Iowa Supreme Court is filled with decent people who value integrity. The intimidation is coming from the other side, who openly said before the ruling that if the court came down in favor of same-sex marriage they would do everything they could to unseat the judges in the next retention election. The social conservative moment in Iowa has historically been more powerful, and used more intimidation, than the gay rights movement.
Mike the gay rights invaded and disrupted a church service in Michigan, they stalked supports of Prop 8 after they lost in California and now they want this child stolen from her mom and they've found a judge who will make it 'legal.'
We're supposed to respect this type of terrorist behavior? I don't.
Steal Isabella Miller from her real mom and we'll see how 'tolerant' America is of the gays following that event.
Anon, you seem upset, and this is a subject on which emotions run high. So I'll give you the opportunity to retract your characterization of this as a "terrorist" event out of respect for Americans who died in actual terror attacks, like 9/11, the Cole and our servicemembers fighting for us in Iraq and Afghanistan. Let's keep our eye on the ball here and not get overblown.
Also, implicitly threatening violence against a group because of the outcome of a court case isn't exactly a good thing either. You may want to consider rhetoric somewhat less inflammatory. I've been arguing the rule of law here, not advocating blood in the strees.
Also, Anon, the "Judge" didn't make anything legal. The Vermont legislature passed the civil unions law that Jenkins and Miller entered into a relationship under. That law grants parental rights. Where is your "Judges should enforce the law as written by the legislature no matter what" outrage now? It seems that you want judges to just enforce the legislature's will when it suits your purposes, but ignore it when it doesn't.
Now, if you have an argument as to why the civil unions law is unconstitutional, by all means put it forward. It is a judge's duty to overturn unconstitutional laws to preserve the constitution as the supreme law of the land. (This protects both sides. Judicial action is why the DC handgun ban was overturned.)
If this
Threats, intimidation, stalking, slandering... and now their adding legalized kidnapping to their repertoire; all tactics of the Gay Rights movement.
Sorry, the phrase 'terrorist' fits perfectly.
And now said anything about threatening violence but as an apologist for gay marriage I'm sure you're very fast in playing the 'victim card.'
Mike,
As you seem to be knowledgeable about the law, what are the civil penalties for printing false and defamatory information about someone? Like using the phrase 'abduction' to describe Ms. Miller's actions? She has not been charged with any crime, yet the author treats her as a criminal. She could be missing, injured, etc. All we know is that she did not produce the child at the appointed time.
"Steal Isabella Miller from her real mom and we'll see how 'tolerant' America is of the gays following that event."
Your words, Anon. Forgive me if I misinterpreted them. They sounded like a subtle threat of violence, though you could mean that it will decrease positive public perception of gays. If the latter was your meaning, I apologize for jumping to conclusions.
Though you don't seem terribly interested in debating this issue with civility, but instead simply name calling and accusing. If you would like to forward an argument as to why the Iowa and Mass courts decided the question wrongly based on constitutional law, I'm quite open to debating it. Or if you would like to tell me why the Vermont judge misinterpreted the Civil Unions law, we can certainly talk about statutory interpretation.
But if you aren't interested in the legal merits, if you are just interested in name calling and outrage, I have no patience for you, as you aren't contributing to the debate.
View my debate style anyway you want. I am simply not going to waste time on any 'legalize' which justifies stealing a little girl from her only biological parent as a subterfuge to supporting the political purposes of the Gay Rights movement. If they can make that 'legal' then anything is possible.
That is Tyranny and a free people have the responsibility to meet tyranny accordingly.
BTW, I still find it unconscionable to equate gay rights activists with Al Qaeda, Hamas or Hezbollah, just as it is unacceptable for liberals to equate conservatives with terrorists or fascists.
Steve,
Miller would have to bring a petition in the appropriate jurisdiction claiming libel. She would have to show damages (trouble getting a job, emotional distress, or other economic or non-economic damages) and she would have to overcome the higher level of privilege that we give to the news media in libel cases. The trouble is, of course, that as soon as she shows herself to do this she'll be arrested for contempt.
I guarantee you her lawyers are furious with her right now. This is not helpful to her case, and if she wants to keep her daughter she shouldn't have violated the visitation order in the first place, but should have fougth it out in the system. Its frustrating, but going outside the system rarely ends well for the person doing it.
Anon,
Yes, of course, the acts of the legislature and/or the constitution of a state or the United States is mere "legalese". Are you willing to burn down the whole forest of law in your rage just to get at one issue? I am not.
More specifically, you are contending it is tyranny when the duly elected legislators in a state pass a law, the consequences of which you disagree with? Because if that's the case, then it is impossible to have democracy that is not tyranny for someone or other.
But as I said, you aren't interested in debating. YOu are only interested in shouting about your beliefs as loud as possible and drowning out debate. Your type, on both left and right, are what is killing this country.
People want to talk case, and statute and process and it is all minutia and details. The issue is this hideous desire of a judge to remove a little girl from her only known biological parent.
That is outrageous! I would never let someone take my child away from me. I would hope people would stand up and defend my right as the real parent to raise my child as I see fit. Anon is right, this is tyranny.
Sarah, the judge wouldn't have had to remove Isabella from Miller's home if Miller had abided by court decisions and allow Jenkins to spend time with their daughter
We now have laws that permit the unborn to be killed and the born to be transferred away from the natural mother, without sufficient cause. So,we're saying that children are slaves and their rights are non-existant.
News reports state that the child did not like being with Janet Jenkins. Also stated is that Jenkins thinks that children should not be taught Christianity. That is evil by Jesus own standards.
To those of you crying tyranny of the court - the only tyrant here is Lisa Miller. A person cannot live by his or her own laws; they must follow the laws as they are written. Nobody has the right to pick and choose which laws to obey or not obey. If Miller hadn't kept snubbing her nose at the law, she wouldn't be in this mess. That's what this boils down to, and nothing more.
If Janet Jenkins were a man and the legal, if not biological, father of Isabella, this discussion wouldn't exist. And, for that reason alone, this discussion shouldn't exist because Jenkins should be afforded equal protection under the law. Miller is guilty of contempt of court and, most likely, custodial interference at a minimum just like any other parent who kidnaps a child from the parent with sole custody.
Sarah:
If a biological parent comes forward after a child is adopted, are you saying that the biological parent is better for the child than the adoptive parents? I beg to differ.
Anon,
Yes, of course, the acts of the legislature and/or the constitution of a state or the United States is mere "legalese". Are you willing to burn down the whole forest of law in your rage just to get at one issue? I am not.
More specifically, you are contending it is tyranny when the duly elected legislators in a state pass a law, the consequences of which you disagree with? Because if that's the case, then it is impossible to have democracy that is not tyranny for someone or other.
But as I said, you aren't interested in debating. YOu are only interested in shouting about your beliefs as loud as possible and drowning out debate. Your type, on both left and right, are what is killing this country.
Men and women are not the same. They are complementary beings with the inherent ability to procreate in pair bonds, something two people of the same sex CANNOT do. THAT is a crucial difference. Did you not learn about "the birds and the bees?" I suppose if you took sex ed in public scholl they might have glossed over that topic, given the evil political views of the National Teachers Union.
Mr. Volz,
Violating a standing visitation order is plenty of cause to transfer custody. In fact, when one parent violates a visitation order, it is frequently a factor in transferring custody to the other parent. As Carol says, the only reason this is even an issue with some commenters now is the fact that the legally recognized relationship in question was between two lesbians.
Are we now all permitted to go about our lives picking and choosing which laws apply to us based upon what we do and not agree with? Vermont has jurisdiction. Under Vermont law, Jenkins is a legally recognized parent of Isabella. Moreover, there are plenty of reports, much of it in the court record, demonstrating that Jenkins has had a good, close parental relationship with Isabella, that has only experienced problems recently since Miller began denying Jenkins visitation and began attacking Jenkins in front of Isabella. No normal court would side with Miller in these circumstances.
ercv,
That has nothing to do with the legal issue at hand. You have every right to feel that family law should be based entirely on biology. (FYI... it never has been.) However, the legislature of the State of Vermont disagrees with you. If you don't like it, take it up with them. But Ms. Miller does not get to violate the law, especially a law she voluntarily took advantage of when she entered into a civil union, just because she disagrees. The only one who has done anything against the law here is Miller.
ercv,
That has nothing to do with the legal issue at hand. You have every right to feel that family law should be based entirely on biology. (FYI... it never has been.) However, the legislature of the State of Vermont disagrees with you. If you don't like it, take it up with them. But Ms. Miller does not get to violate the law, especially a law she voluntarily took advantage of when she entered into a civil union, just because she disagrees. The only one who has done anything against the law here is Miller.
Wow. Maybe William Cohen needs to be removed from the bench and disbarred for showing such egregious judgment:
1) Lisa Miller is the only known family Isabella Miller has.
2) Wishes of the child are being completely disregarded.
3) Allegations of violent and incompetent behavior persist against Jenkins.
4) No one has ever challenged the parental competency of Lisa Miller
5) Case is still under appeal in the Virgina courts.
So I guess the Judge is in a hurry to pacify his apparent masters in the gay marriage movement...?
Sorry, if that was my kid and someone 'ordered' me to turn her over to a biological stranger for apparently purely political reasons, they'd get shot. I'm not recommending violence or anything of that sort obviously, but this decision is insane.
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