I hate to say it, but it seems like this Baby Veronica thing just might go all Elian Gonzalez, especially after reading the most recent news.
Not only did Veronica’s biological father Dusten Brown fail to appear in court as ordered, it seems as if the only people who know where 3-year-old Ronnie is are Brown’s relatives. Couple that with Brown’s line-in-the-stand declaration that he will not hand over his child if he believes it will harm her, and, well, I just … really don’t want to think about it.
Andrew Knapp of The Post and Courier reports:
A Charleston judge on Monday ordered the immediate transfer of 3-year-old Veronica to her adoptive parents and called for action from state and federal authorities after the girl’s birth father failed to appear for a court-ordered visit the day before.
The decree by Family Court Judge Daniel Martin suspended a transition plan intended to gradually re-introduce the toddler to Matt and Melanie Capobianco of James Island. It also requests assistance from Dusten Brown’s commanding officer as he finishes a 30-day training mission with the Army National Guard …
Attempts to reach Shannon Jones of Charleston and John Nichols of Columbia, two of Brown’s attorneys in the state, were not successful.
The judge ordered both of the attorneys to divulge their personal knowledge of Veronica’s whereabouts and his plans not to follow the order. Last week, Jones released a statement from Brown that said he wouldn’t abide by a ruling he thought would harm his daughter.
Martin also asked Solicitor Scarlett Wilson and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to take “any lawful action” to find Veronica and return her to the Capobiancos. Wilson said late Monday afternoon that she was “discussing with law enforcement to determine the best way to proceed.”
Like the Elian Gonzalez custody battle before it — as well as last month’s George Zimmerman trial— the Baby Veronica case is about so much more than who should raise little Ronnie. As much as we here in Charleston fail to recognize it, for the Cherokee Nation this is a racial issue and the recent court orders bring up memories of decades upon decades of mistreatment at the hands of the white man. Here’s hoping that outrage doesn’t manifest in some truly horrible manner.
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