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Home / RI: Lesbian Couple Sues For The Right To…… DivorceRI: Lesbian Couple Sues For The Right To…… Divorce
Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 October 2007 08:59 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 10 October 2007 08:59
If they can’t get it in Rhode Island, one of them will have to move to the state they were married… Massachusetts
If the women can’t divorce in Rhode Island, their lawyers said the only legal avenue available to them would be for at least one to move to Massachusetts and live there long enough to obtain a divorce there.
“It is an absolutely unfair burden,” Ormiston said outside court after Tuesday’s arguments before the Rhode Island Supreme Court. “It is a burden no one else is asked to bear, and it is something I will not do.”
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 10th, 2007 at 8:59 am and is filed under Attorney General News.
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From Schmitz Blitz: schmitzblitz.wordpress.com
I thought it was interesting that the lawyers for the women are stressing that this case would have no bearing on same sex marriage in Rhode Island. I beg to differ. The right to a legal divorce is, perhaps ironically, one of the most important benefits of legal marriage. It provides a legal (and the fairest possible) framework for couples to separate their shared assets and lives.
It is my hope that this is yet another incremental step towards the recognition of gay marriages in Rhode Island. I think it is a wise choice that the women’s lawyers are steering clear from the topic. If the state legislature works the way it is supposed to, it should, at some point, address the problems of denying gay couples legal equality (as demonstrated by this case) by granting full marriage equality.
Until then, I think it’s best the courts refrain from finding in favor of gay marriage. They should continue to correct the real inequalities that gay couples face by being denied the right to marry. Maybe then, when straights realize that gay unions are the functional equivalent to heterosexual marriages, they will not feel as passionate as many are now about denying the word ‘marriage’ to gays.