The Lisa Miller Saga Continues

It's no secret that I've got it out for Lisa Miller. Is it because I don't like religious fanatics who improperly use the law to keep a child from a capable parent, all the while railing against the supposed destructive homosexual lifestyle? Sort of, but mostly I just have no tolerance for kidnappers.

I've been following the Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins drama since my first year in law school. Five years ago the story was about a nasty custody battle between two ladies, and it was about the law, and it was about gay parental rights. What made it so interesting back then was Lisa's sneaky use of anti-gay laws in Virginia to shut Janet out of their daughter's life. It worked, and then it didn't work, and the legal battle dragged on, as legal battles often do, until a Vermont judge grew impatient with Lisa's shenanigans and awarded full custody to Janet.

Up until that point, this case was of interest to the gay community because it recognized the gay family in a new away, it shifted the focus from biology to parental relationship. It started a domino effect of legal cases that granted parental rights to non-biological same-sex parents.

And then Lisa Miller changed the game. When she failed to show up in court in January, she was no longer the bad ex-lesbian. She was the bad kidnapper, cowardly hiding behind her new status as an anti-gay freedom rider. For months rumors flew about her whereabouts, and who was hiding her, and when would she resurface? It was no longer a neat legal discussion, but a very human and emotional story of a dirty custody battle. Gay, straight, whatever, these two women were stuck in a terrible divorce and using that kid as a pawn.

The current belief is that Lisa and Isabella are in El Salvador. Various sources point them in the general direction of South America at the very least. And while United States agencies have turned their focus in that general direction, I'm considering just going down there and getting her my damn self.

In the meantime, the court side of this battle resumed this week when the Vermont Supreme Court heard arguments from Lisa's attorneys, the always indignant Liberty Counsel, who continue to represent the interests of their client despite the claim that they haven't heard from her in nearly a year. They likely feel they are at the forefront of some mighty crusade against the homosexual agenda taking over America.

Liberty Counsel continues to argue that Vermont family court had erred in awarding a non-biological, non-adoptive parent full custody because Virginia doesn't like gay marriage or gay parents. What they failed to understand is that this argument has zero legal basis. In Vermont, a civil union state (which enacted same-sex marriage in 2009), a non-biological parent needs not adopt a child in order to gain full parental rights, and in this case, Vermont law applies. According to all reports, the Vermont Supreme Court tore into Liberty Counsel. Turns out when you ask a Vermont court to create separate classes of parent based upon something as irrelevant as biological relationship, they don't take kindly to it. The court has yet to issue a ruling, so stay tuned.

In my opinion, the legal portion of this saga is over. Family court judges have the discretion to award custody to whomever they believe is the best parent, and although the biological parent is often presumed to be the best bet, that presumption is highly rebuttable. Plus, Lisa has racked up multiple contempt of court charges, has acted in complete disregard of the law, and kidnapped her child. These sorts of things don't usually make for a great role model.

Janet Jenkins just wants her daughter safe. Lisa Miller just wants her daughter safe. Their definitions of "safe" in this case are at odds. Hiding out in a foreign country, the language of which you do not speak, living in constant fear that you'll be found out and hauled off to prison is only an option for those who feel they are being violently persecuted in their country of origin. Except Lisa Miller is no political refugee, she's a disgruntled mother who became an accidental activist for the anti-gay fanatics.

Anyone up for a trip to El Salvador?

Photo credit: SashaW