N.Y. Judge grants first Gay divorce in a state that doesn't allow Gay marriage
In what appears to be the first ruling of its kind, a New York judge will allow a lesbian couple who married in Canada to sue for divorce.
Though New York does not allow same-sex marriages, a state trial court judge refused to dismiss a divorce and child custody suit brought by a woman, identified only as Beth R., against her former partner Donna M.
Donna M. had argued that her 2004 marriage should be invalid in New York because the state doesn't allow same-sex marriage, but Supreme Court Justice Laura Drager found that the out-of-state marriage could still be recognized under New York law. Her ruling appears to be the first divorce case in New York from a same-sex marriage.
"What we're seeing now is a judicial battle that's going to be waged in [the] next few months," said Arthur Leonard, who teaches a class on sexual orientation and the law at New York Law School. "People sometimes forget that divorce is part of marriage. People need a judicial process to untangle a relationship."
The state's highest court last year declined to create a constitutional right to same-sex marriages, saying it was an issue for the legislature to decide. That case did not address out-of-state same-sex marriages. [ full story ]
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Seems things are shaking up a bit in New York! Aren't we constitutionally given the right to due process and the pursuit of happiness?
