This blog previously detailed a post about a same-sex Maryland couple that has been trying to divorce one another for about two years. The problem was that the same-sex couple wed in 2008 in California, and the state of Maryland does not recognize same-sex marriages; thus, it was not permitting a same-sex divorce. This case made it all the way to the highest court of the state.
May 18, Maryland’s highest court granted the couple’s divorce. The Court of Appeals overturned the decision of the lower court and said that a same-sex marriage that took place elsewhere should be worthy of divorce by Maryland courts so long as the marriage was valid. The court made this decision unanimously.
Earlier this year, the Governor of Maryland signed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. The law is currently set to take effect next January; however, the law has some hurdles to jump this coming November at which time the ballot will have a measure to annul the new law. Should the law be repealed in November, same-sex couples will still have the right to a divorce in Maryland.
Divorce on its own is no easy undertaking, but when you combine with it a same-sex couple in a state that doesn’t yet recognize same-sex marriages, it’s a bit more difficult. Nonetheless, this couple fought through and in the end, succeeded. A same-sex divorce will now be recognized throughout the state of Maryland.
Source: The Washington Post, ” Maryland’s highest court allows same-sex divorce,” Ellen Mccarthy, May 18, 2012
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