“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.
