g********d 发帖数: 4174 | 1 Posted on Advocate.com June 07, 2011 05:15:00 PM ET
Wyoming: Judge OK's Lesbian Divorce
By Advocate.com Editors
Wyoming supreme court A lesbian couple who married in Canada can legally
file for divorce in their home state of Wyoming, the state Supreme Court
ruled unanimously Monday.
Paula Christiansen and Victoria Lee Christiansen wed in Canada in 2008. In
2010 they filed for divorce, but Wyoming District Court judge Keith Kautz
said the court did not have the jurisdiction to dissolve their marriage
because gay partnerships or marriages are not recognized in the state.
However, the Wyoming Supreme Court overruled Kautz's decision, placing same-
sex marriages on the same level as common-law marriages. Judge Michael
Golden wrote in his decision Monday, however, that this ruling does not
imply marriage equality for gay couples.
“Nothing in this opinion should be taken as applying to the recognition of
same-sex marriages legally solemnized in a foreign jurisdiction in any
context other than divorce,” Golden wrote in a footnote, according to the
Casper Star Tribune.
Still, Becky Vanderberghe, president of local conservative group WyWatch,
said the group would push for a ballot initiative, allowing voters to decide
whether marriage equality would be constitutionally banned. |
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