NJ Judge rules same-sex couple can divorce

by: Jason Springer

Fri Feb 06, 2009 at 10:16:49 PM EST

A Mercer County Judge issued what appears to be a pretty significant ruling this afternoon:

Gay marriages performed outside New Jersey are recognized in the state for the purpose of divorce, according to a ruling Friday by a judge deciding whether a lesbian couple married in Canada can split.
The wider implications weren't immediately clear, but Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson said New Jersey has a long history of recognizing marriages that are valid where they were performed.

Here's more on what the ruling means:

Jacobson said her ruling does not mean that the state has to recognize same-sex marriages for other purposes.
But her decision does overrule, in part, a state attorney general's order that declared New Jersey wouldn't fully recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere.

Now the Attorney General has to decide what she wants to do:

Lee Moore, a spokesman for Attorney General Anne Milgram, said she had not yet decided whether to appeal Friday's decision to a higher state court.
[snip]
The state attorney general's office had argued that she should be granted a dissolution of a civil union, instead of a divorce.

Only in New Jersey could a couple have the ability to get divorced, without actually having the possibility of getting married. We could save on legal bills if the Legislature would take action and rectify that situation too. You wonder how much longer our elected officials can continue to justify denying committed couples the joy of marriage, when we now have them experience the pain of divorce?

Jason Springer :: NJ Judge rules same-sex couple can divorce

Tags: divorce, marriage, same sex marriage, same sex divorce, gay marriage, (All Tags)

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NJ Judge rules same-sex couple can divorce | 4 comments

I have to say it (0.00 / 0)

Sometime it's the pain of marriage and the joy of divorce.

Frank LoBiondo Record and Jon Runyan Watch

by: Hopeful @ Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 03:27:27 AM UTC

by: you @ soon

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This is asinine (0.00 / 0)

I'm not a lawyer, but I can't see how a state can not recognize a marriage yet recognize the divorce.

The article says the couple was married in Canada and wanted a divorce so they could get re-married in Canada. Yet the divorce has to happen in New Jersey?

I am a long-time supported of marriage equality, all the way back to signing a petition as a Councilman back in 1999. I may have been the first elected official to come out publicly for marriage equality.

This question is about the law, not about same sex marriage. It seems an idiotic decision.

And it's an idiotic decision because our legislature didn't have the courage to simply created marriage equality in New Jersey when the courts told them to.

by: nathanrudy @ Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 14:28:24 PM UTC

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it's an idiotic situation either way (0.00 / 0)

Let's say the court denies the divorce. There's no question that the couple can end their New Jersey civil union. Now the couple can dissolve their New Jersey relationship, but somehow will still be married in Canada. How is that just? Sure, it seems for this couple they could have gone to Canada, but it is a problem.

Frank LoBiondo Record and Jon Runyan Watch

by: Hopeful @ Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 22:33:24 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Gay Divorce (0.00 / 0)

It may not seem this way at first but, this decision is a step forward for equality in New Jersey. The decision made by Mary Jacobson states that out of state gay marriages may seek a divorce in NJ. This means that NJ is now on a road to allowing gay marriages if they now accept that there is a marriage between the two to divorce in NJ. Accepting they are a married couple means that NJ is on the path of accepting out of state gay marriages and will hopefully create a stepping stone for the state legislature to pass a gay marriage bill in the state, or possibly the State Supreme Court to make a decision on same-sex marriages.

by: GayTeen4Obama @ Sat Feb 07, 2009 at 19:51:02 PM UTC

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NJ Judge rules same-sex couple can divorce | 4 comments