Rhode Island Says No To Gay Couple Divorce

By Lika Starr on December 8, 2007

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island’s Supreme Court says a lesbian couple who married in Massachusetts cannot get divorced in their home state.

The 3-2 split decision came yesterday.

In the majority opinion, Justice William Robinson III says that the General Assembly has not given the Family Court the power to grant divorces for same-sex couples.

Cassandra Ormiston and Margaret Chambers wed in Massachusetts in 2004 after that state became the first to legalize same-sex marriages. The couple filed for divorce last year in Rhode Island, where they both live.

Lawyers for the women had said they should consider only whether Rhode Island could recognize a valid marriage from another state.? Opponents of same-sex marriage said granting the divorce would create a slippery slope.

Why is this making the news? Don’t we already know that states which don’t allow gay marriage also don’t allow gay divorce because it is already not recognized in the state?

I am gay and also support gay marriage but it is ridiculous to expect this of a state that does not recognize gay marriage. If you were able to go to MA in the first place for marriage then you should go back for the divorce.

This is even more ridiculous when considering the fact that the couple were never legally married in their home state anyway.

However, had Rhode Island decided to grant the divorce – that would have been real news!

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