A Rutland Family Court judge ordered a first-of-its kind parent custody change Friday in a child-visitation dispute involving a Virginia woman and her former lesbian partner who lives in Fair Haven.
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.
Jenkins and her former partner — and Isabella's biological mother — Lisa Miller, who renounced homosexuality after the couple split in 2003, have been in and out of courtrooms in Vermont and Virginia for years arguing over visitation rights.
. . . After finding Miller in contempt of court earlier this year for denying Jenkins access to Isabella, Cohen said he decided the only way to ensure the child equal access to both parents was to switch custody.
Watch out for the religious right barrage of nonsense to come crashing down regarding this case. It has been their cause celebre for a long time.
Despite how they will spin it, there are a few facts that I am sure the religious right will not tell anyone about this situation.
I covered these facts here and here.
When they were a couple, Miller and Jenkins decided to raise Isabella together.
When they split, Miller agreed to let Jenkins have visitation rights. Jenkins was even paying child support.
Miller refused to allow Jenkins to have unsupervised time with Isabella claiming that Jenkins was harming Isabella. The Virginia Child Protective Services investigated and found the charges to be false.
Unfortunately the case is not over yet. Matt Staver of the Liberty Counsel will appeal the case 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 other words, expect to see and read more lies about this case from Staver and company.
My hope is that despite all of this, the best thing is done for little Isabella.
1 comment:
Alliance Defense Fund has a habit of taking up these "ex-gay" or even simply split-up-gay-parent-child custody cases. They do so for the sole purpose of causing pain to gay and lesbian people seeking to be a part of their child's life.
http://www.progressivepuppy.com/the_progressive_puppy/2009/07/when-gay-parents-are-legal-strangers-to-a-child.html
Your co-parenting agreements will not protect you. There MUST be a legal adoption to guarantee legal protection.
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