Throughout the battle for same-sex marriage, another basic right has been overlooked - the right to divorce. As Frederick Hertz explains in his article about gay divorce for the Huffingtonpost.com, you would think that anti-gay judges would be "thrilled to help these gay couples break up," but that is not true. Judges in states that don't allow gay marriages refuse to allow divorce, "on the grounds that granting a divorce would constitute a form of official recognition of their marriage."
A new bill just passed in California that is trying to change all that. Entitled SB (Senate Bill) 651, it allows those gay and lesbian couples who got married in California in 2008 to get a divorce. It will also help couples in the future, if Proposition 8 (which bans same-sex marriage) is ever repealed.
The divorce case must be filed in the county in which the marriage was granted. And, the "dissolution is supposed to be adjudicated 'in accordance with California law.'" The law goes into effect in January 2012.
For more information about divorce in California, click California State Divorce.
What do you think? Let us know in a comment!
Related posts:
