« Ind. Gov't. - More on: Some upcoming legislative committee meetings | Main | Ind. Decisions - Supreme Court grants a number of transfers »
Monday, September 14, 2009
Ind. Courts - "Lesbians' petition is denied because Indiana doesn't recognize their marriage"
Jon Murray has a lengthy and comprehensive story today on the issue. A few quotes:
Gay and lesbian couples from Indiana can get married in more places than ever, but they could face a legal dilemma after they return home.If the relationship sours, the lack of recognition for such unions in Indiana law presents couples with a classic Catch-22: They can't obtain a divorce in their home state because their marriage is void here, and they can't easily seek one where they were married because of residency requirements for divorce.
A Marion County court recently denied a divorce for a Hoosier couple because of the state's ban on same-sex marriages, creating an unresolved issue that could cause trouble if either decides to enter into a new marriage. * * *
In addition to Canada, half a dozen U.S. states -- including Iowa and most of New England -- already allow same-sex marriage or have new laws pending. Nine others and the District of Columbia have approved alternative arrangements, such as civil unions and domestic partnerships, offering a range of state-level spousal rights to such couples.
A 1997 Indiana law defines marriage as between a man and a woman and bars recognition of same-sex marriages from other states. Courts have fielded few divorce petitions from same-sex couples so far, but gay-rights advocates and family law lawyers say the situation is sure to become more common as Hoosier couples travel to states allowing such unions. * * *
Courts in other states have similarly dismissed divorce petitions from same-sex couples married elsewhere. In Rhode Island, which recognizes same-sex marriages from neighboring Massachusetts but doesn't grant them, the state Supreme Court ruled nonetheless that the state courts couldn't issue divorce decrees.
Rhode Island's legislature this year considered -- but has not approved -- a fix that advocates also suggest as a tweak to divorce laws in states such as Indiana that ban same-sex marriage: Recognize a marriage or partnership just long enough to end it.
Opponents of same-sex marriage, including the Indiana Family Institute, would resist such a move because, they say, it would undermine the ban on same-sex marriages. They have sought unsuccessfully to upgrade Indiana's ban from a law to a state constitutional amendment. * * *
Each state sets its own definition of marriage while generally recognizing marriages solemnized in other states, but the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act allows states to deny recognition to other states' same-sex unions.
Marion Superior Court Commissioner Jeffrey Marchal expressed sympathy for the couple's practical concerns, but the order issued Sept. 4 said state lawmakers had not given the courts authority to dissolve same-sex marriages in Indiana's divorce laws.
"As the state of Indiana has chosen to prohibit same-sex marriage as a matter of public policy, it might logically follow that Indiana would have a policy interest in granting same-sex divorce," says the order, signed by Marchal and Judge Heather Welch, who presides over that courtroom. * * *
Marchal said his hand was tied by the law, but he did include a declaration in the order that their marriage is "null and void" in the hope they can show it to officials in another state if the need arises.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 14, 2009 09:59 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts