Same-Sex Divorce Against The Law In Indiana

(AP) -- An Indiana judge has turned down a divorce request from two women married in Canada, ruling that state law doesn't give courts the authority to dissolve same-sex marriages.

Larissa Chism and Tara Ranzy lived in Pennsylvania at the time of their 2005 marriage but had since moved to South Bend. Ranzy asked an Indianapolis attorney to handle the divorce that involved no children.

A Marion County court held a hearing on the case after an employee noticed the petition bore two women's names. Marion Superior Court Commissioner Jeffrey Marchal wrote in a Sept. 4 order that it would be logical for the state to permit same-sex divorce since it has chosen to prohibit such marriages.

Divorce attorney Karen Jensen told The Indianapolis Star no decision had been made to appeal.

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Comments

[John Bisceglia]

You said "Til death do us part." You're not dead yet.

So Indiana would rather have one individual possibly take advantage of the other person and use this legal inequity against the other person? Great.

Washington State denied me marriage/divorce rights, and now their taxpayers are paying for it - over $100,000 and counting....

[motoGpifupleez]

How about a Constitution amendment banning divorce NATIONWIDE? What say you, Republicans? You do take the marriage vows seriously, don't you?

[Maria Thomas]

no the only thing keeping marriages sacred is keeping gays out of them.....divorce doen't tarnish marriages - gays do!

* in c ase you are confused - that is sarcasm!*

[bsc]

this is unconstitutional. people have a right to access to the court in the jurisdiction in which they live. wonder how they are going to handle this?

[nola87]

You know, Indiana had the highest numbers of Klan Members back in the early 1900's....

[JM35]

I hate Indiana.

[bobo5]

The sanctity of heterosexual divorce needs protection. Newt Gingrich needs to take note of this.

[KIVPossum]

You can't get married, but if you do, you can not get divorced.

Now THAT'S protecting family values.

[bannorhill]

As far as the state is concerned they are not married.

If you are not married then why do you need a divorce?

[NWBrunette]

When it comes to Indiana, this issue has very little to do with the marriage of this wonderful couple. It has to do with a bunch of homophobes who got to insert their bigotry in to the State law. Its temporary. Very temporary.

[greymen]

You are so CLEARLY not married, are you? To ask such a question.

[joceeco]

The Indiana judge said, "state law doesn't give the courts the authority to dissolve same-sex marriage?" Maybe we should stop calling them same-sex marriages and just call them marriages, we do not call hetero marriages opposite-sex marriages. If state law gives the court the right to dissolve marriage, then there should not be a problem. What a load of BS from this judge.

[WilliamTheV]

everything you said was awesomesauce

[StarDagger]

Indeed

[Quaere verum]

Wrong,

you see my friend, marriage is between a Man and a Woman. It always has been, and it always will be.. Two Men and two Women can form a Domestic Partnership/Union, if that is what they Choose to do, but to call their union a marriage would be to revise history. We (Man) did not create marriage, and if you study your history you will find that GOD is very specific with regard to the purpose for the creation and institution of marriage. For example, Marriage (IS) supposed to be the basic tenet of the "Family", as it takes the Seed of a Man to fertilize the Egg/Ovum of a Woman. It is o.k. to be gay if that is the life that one is (BORN) into but changing the law isn't going to make it possible for a man to carry a child for 9 months, or a woman to produce her own sperm.

Guess that is "LIFE"...

-Seek the Truth

(Really)

[joceeco]

Dude or chic or whatever the h*ll you are, you can take that marriage is between a man and a woman BS and shove it up the first hole you can find, because you and everyone else who thinks like you are trying to hold on to an America that never learn to treat human beings who think and look differently from you, with respect and dignity. Family and marriage is more than a sexual act, but you can't seem to get past that, because you are too busy trying to regulate what two adults do in the privacy of their own home.

[bsc]

HAHAHAHA very funny and crazy at the same time

[Cheshiremoe]

Under your logic my marriage would not be valid either because My wife and I have no intention of having children...

what about people that are sterile, you wouldn't allow them to get married either.

Just because its the way its been done for centuries doesn't make it right. We don't stone adulterers to death anymore as the bible tells us we should.

[newtom]

Which one of god's marriage plans are you talking about? The Adam and Eve one where they reproduced with their own offspring? The one where Abraham had a child with a servant because his wife was infertile? Perhaps the Solomon plan with all those wives and concubines? Or are you talking about the King David plan where you steal your wife away from some other husband. Oh wait. maybe you're one of those NT christians, which would mean you want to go with the Paul marriage plan which is -- don't marry.

You people make me wanna puke with your "ancient plan of marriage" crap.

Marriage is a construct of the law -- not religion. The only reason religion got involved at all was to get something out of it for themselves. Namely, money.

You're wrong in so many ways.

[xenas mom]

Here's the truth: You're funny. Uninformed, but funny.

[bsc]

yep

[frogluv73]

It would seem logical to divorce them if the state prohibits same-sex marriage, however that would force the issue that although the state prohibits it, it also recognizes it. Either way, the state is screwed, because they've already admitted to recognizing it.

[bannorhill]

They have NOT admitted to recognizing it. How can you have a divorce for a marriage that does not exist?

[Patrick Garies]

Based upon the story, the court apparently recognizes that the marriage does indeed exist but that it doesn't have the authority to absolve the marriage. If the marriage didn't exist, it would have made more sense to simply dismiss the case out of hand since there's nothing to decide.

This issue is more complicated by the fact that *other* States and nations would recognize both the marriage and an Indiana-based divorce, so saying that it doesn't exist is a little like being in denial.

[StevenKeirstead]

How about full faith and credit to the acts and licenses of other states? Maybe that would not apply to a Canadian marriage, but it ought to for a Massachusetts one.

[MacGregor57]

Indianaians don't want anybody to be happier than they are.

[PKMKII]

They're called Hoosiers, not "Indianaians".

[GrahamInCanada]

Interesting.

Does this mean the second wife of a polygamous marriage abroad living in America when her husband is also living in America cannot file for divorce in America? After all, second marriages themselves are not allowed in America...

[slarabee]

Wow. What a twisted mess of a land we live in.

I said from the beginning of this whole debate that gay couples should have the same right to misery that the rest of us do and now it seems they get to endure it until death do you part. Literally.

However I wonder what the legal ramifications are if in fact the state does not recognize their marriage in the first place.

I say it is cheaper to pretend you were never married and just move on if that is possible.

Also how does the court determine which one is "the man" in the relationship so that they can discriminate against her er him, well you know what I mean. :)

Just so you know that last comment was not meant to be hateful against our GLBT community members it was a hateful shot at the members of the family courts and legal system. :)

[bsc]

there are so many legal ramifications of property and money being tied up that it makes it very hard to just walk away without a legal finality

[John Bisceglia]

YEP. Often one partner gets SCREWED, and then taxpayers cough up money to help out with government social welfare programs until the person is back on their feet.

[David Christensen]

You will stay married and you will like it!!

[bannorhill]

By state law they are not married.

[OmarSpence]

Legalizing gay marriage & not gay divorce works pretty well, make sure they're stuck in it since they wanted it so bad.

[bsc]

wow pretty bitter huh?

[MoeB]

So long as straight marriage is outlawed as well. Because, just like the gays, heterosexuals "wanted it so bad", that they should be stuck too, correct?

[kcflood]

Legalize gay marriage (and divorce) !!!