As one who tried to deny my true sexual orientation for decades and who has seen first hand the falsity of ex-gay claims - former ex-gay poster boy Michael Johnston is a case in point - I know full well that one doesn't become ever really "ex-gay." It simply doesn't happen despite whatever brainwashing groups like Exodus International and NARTH try to impose. Sooner or later, it will all fall apart and one's innate sexual orientation will remain unchanged. Hence I am baffled at Lisa Miller's insane actions that have made her a fugitive and might well result in her losing custody of her child if the two of them are apprehended. Needless to say, I doubt she would have taken such foolish steps without the aid and comfort of far right Christians who view the law as applying to everyone but themselves. I suspect she's being aided even at this moment by such people. Change.org looks at the sad saga of what religious extremism can cause. Here are some highlights:*
Five years ago, Lisa Miller packed her bags and left her home in Vermont for the greener, less gay-friendly pastures of Virginia. She left behind her partner of six years, Janet Jenkins. She left behind their civil union. She left behind homosexuality. The only thing she didn't leave behind was their then 17 month-old daughter Isabella.
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Lisa's move to Virginia was highly calculated, a backward display of political asylum: she picked a state in which she could hide behind the anti-gay policies and hope not to be found by the inclusive homo-friendly laws of her past.
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Despite the numerous legal decrees granting Janet visitation rights, Lisa has cut Janet out of the family equation, claiming that acquiescing to the custody directive would be like "handing my daughter over to the milkman."
Lisa isn't just ignoring the Vermont orders because she doesn't like them, she's ignoring them because she has her own set of rules: God's law. She felt that "God, through His word and through the ways that He shows Himself, that he wanted me to stop visitation" and so she did. This is no longer a battle between bitter exes, this has become a war of religious ideology.
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Unfortunately for those on Team Lisa (namely evangelicals), directives from God don't carry much weight in a court of law. With each consecutive missed court appearance, each canceled visit with Janet, each statement in the press of defiance and religious piety, Lisa, and Lisa alone, built the case against herself. Rule number one folks, don't piss off a judge. It never ends well.
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So last November a judge granted sole custody of the girl to Janet, citing Lisa's repeated disrespect for the court as representative of her disregard for the best interest of the child. When Lisa failed to show up for a January 1 court appearance, an arrest warrant was issued. No one has seen or heard from Lisa, or Isabella, since.
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This battle isn't over. And the messier it gets, the clearer it becomes that we need uniform laws regarding adoption and custody. Lisa is the newest darling for the traditional family army, while Janet stands in for gay parents everywhere, simply fighting for the right to love their kids.
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Five years ago, Lisa Miller packed her bags and left her home in Vermont for the greener, less gay-friendly pastures of Virginia. She left behind her partner of six years, Janet Jenkins. She left behind their civil union. She left behind homosexuality. The only thing she didn't leave behind was their then 17 month-old daughter Isabella.
*
Lisa's move to Virginia was highly calculated, a backward display of political asylum: she picked a state in which she could hide behind the anti-gay policies and hope not to be found by the inclusive homo-friendly laws of her past.
*
Despite the numerous legal decrees granting Janet visitation rights, Lisa has cut Janet out of the family equation, claiming that acquiescing to the custody directive would be like "handing my daughter over to the milkman."
Lisa isn't just ignoring the Vermont orders because she doesn't like them, she's ignoring them because she has her own set of rules: God's law. She felt that "God, through His word and through the ways that He shows Himself, that he wanted me to stop visitation" and so she did. This is no longer a battle between bitter exes, this has become a war of religious ideology.
*
Unfortunately for those on Team Lisa (namely evangelicals), directives from God don't carry much weight in a court of law. With each consecutive missed court appearance, each canceled visit with Janet, each statement in the press of defiance and religious piety, Lisa, and Lisa alone, built the case against herself. Rule number one folks, don't piss off a judge. It never ends well.
*
So last November a judge granted sole custody of the girl to Janet, citing Lisa's repeated disrespect for the court as representative of her disregard for the best interest of the child. When Lisa failed to show up for a January 1 court appearance, an arrest warrant was issued. No one has seen or heard from Lisa, or Isabella, since.
*
This battle isn't over. And the messier it gets, the clearer it becomes that we need uniform laws regarding adoption and custody. Lisa is the newest darling for the traditional family army, while Janet stands in for gay parents everywhere, simply fighting for the right to love their kids.
*
What is even more sad - and it may years before Lisa Miller realizes it - is that the Christianist have used Lisa and Isabella for their religious jihad with no long term concern for either of them. It's all about imposing their religious views on all.
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