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Lesbians and Gays Can’t Get Married In Texas, Can’t Get Divorced Either

09/01/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
The Texas Court of Appeals for the Fifth District ruled that a couple married in Massachusetts could not legally seek a divorce after they moved to Texas. Of course, this couple is gay. The case entitled In re the Marriage of J.B. and H.B. was appealed by the state after a lower court judge granted the two men a divorce. The judge also declared that Texas’ defense of marriage statue violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. The state argued that, because Texas does not recognize their marriage as valid, they were not eligible for a divorce.

The Appeals Court sided with the state and decided that the language of Texas’ law was clear in that it never intended to have the state of Texas acknowledge the existence of same-sex marriages. In so doing, the court ignored the principle of comity which is where one state acknowledges and gives effect to the laws of another state. The court, in violating the Constitution, stated it would not acknowledge the Massachusetts law because doing so would violate Texas public policy. The court also ignored all the rulings from other states regarding this issue. The court also ruled that there was no fundamental right for same-sex couples to get married.

This will likely effect the case from Austin which granted a divorce to a lesbian couple with the state likely to appeal that one as well. One or both cases will likely end up before the Texas Supreme Court, and may even get appealed into the Federal system.

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