Texas Court Denies Same Sex Couple the Right to Divorce

The Dallas Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that a gay couple legally married in MA had no right to a TX divorce.  From CBS News:

"A person does not and cannot seek a divorce without simultaneously asserting the existence and validity of a lawful marriage," Justice Kerry P. Fitzgerald wrote on behalf of three Republican appeals court justices. "Texas law, as embodied in our constitution and statutes, requires that a valid marriage must be a union of one man and one woman, and only when a union comprises one man and one woman can there be a divorce under Texas law."

The court applied rational relationship review, finding that sexual orientation did not create a suspect class and that there is no fundamental right to same sex marriage.

Read more news coverage here or the court's opinion here.

AC