The Virginia Supreme Court issued its ruling this morning in a four year long custody battle arising from a Vermont civil union gone bad and held that the Vermont civil union decrees must be enforced in Virginia even though same-sex marriages are barred in Virginia by both statute and the so-called "Marriage Amendment" passed in November, 2006. No doubt the professional gay-haters will be in an uproar, especially since Lisa Miller is now an "ex-gay" for pay. Here are some highlights from the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
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Virginia Supreme Court ruling this morning means a Vermont child custody order in a failed civil union must be enforced here even though same-sex marriages are barred in Virginia. The unusual, long-running case centers on 6-year-old Isabella, born to then Lisa Miller-Jenkins, after she was artificially inseminated. Miller-Jenkins entered into a civil union in Vermont with Janet Miller-Jenkins in 2001. The union broke up and Lisa, now Lisa Miller, returned to Virginia in 2003, became a born-again Christian and renounced the lesbian lifestyle.
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The Virginia justices today upheld a Virginia Court of Appeals ruling that a federal law aimed at preventing parents from shopping from state to state for the most favorable custody rulings, required the Vermont order to be respected. The case has attracted national attention from liberal and conservative groups.
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Lambda Legal, which participated in the case on behailf of Janet Jenkins, released a statement, highlights of which are as follows:
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Today, the Virginia Supreme Court affirmed a prior ruling by the Virginia Court of Appeals that said that the state must honor the Vermont Supreme Court's order of visitation between Janet Jenkins and her daughter.
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Janet Jenkins (formerly Miller-Jenkins) and Lisa Miller (formerly Miller-Jenkins) were joined in a civil union in Vermont and thereafter had a child. After the women ended their relationship, Miller moved to Virginia with the women's daughter, and asked a Vermont court to dissolve the couple's civil union and sort out custody of the child. When the Vermont court ordered visitation for Jenkins, Miller filed a new lawsuit in a Virginia court, using that state's antigay marriage law to have herself declared the child's sole legal parent.
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The conflicting court orders — one from Vermont ordering regular visitation for Jenkins, and the other from a lower court in Virginia naming Miller as the sole parent — led to a decision by the Virginia Court of Appeals that the lower court in Virginia was wrong to contradict the Vermont court order granting Janet Jenkins visitation rights. A few months later, the Virginia Court of Appeals, based on its earlier decision, reiterated that Virginia must enforce the Vermont court order. Lisa Miller appealed that decision to the Virginia Supreme Court resulting in today's decision.
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