Gay Divorce Denied by Supreme Court of Rhode Island
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island rejected the divorce petition of a lesbian couple who had married in Massachusetts. Since Rhode Island law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, the state Supreme Court ruled that Margaret Chambers and Cassandra Ormiston could not get a divorce. The couple was married in 2004 in Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal. The Supreme Court of Rhode Island also indicated in its decision that a lower state court did not have the authority to consider the couple’s divorce petition. Chambers had cited irreconcilable differences when filing for divorce from Ormistion in Providence last year.
For more of a backstory on this Rhode Island lesbian divorce, check out the following articles:
Arguments for Rhode Island Gay Divorce Heard in State Supreme Court; and
Examining the Legality of Rhode Island Divorce for Same-Sex Marriages.
