Feb 06 2009
I do or not I do
I do or not I do
A Court in New Jersey affirmed a lesbian couple’s right to divorce in the state, despite their Canadian marriage and the opposition of the state attorney general. La Kia Hammond, of Trenton, was able to divorce Kinyati Hammond, who she married in Victoria, British Columbia, in March 2004.
Most courts have ruled that the state would not grant the divorces because the states do not recognize same-sex marriage. New Jersey, was able to take that legal stand because it already extends the legal benefits of marriage to gay couples.
Cases like these are closely watched by advocates for and against gay marriage, partly because allowing gay couples to divorce could open the door to recognizing gay marriage.
Others states are well on their way to accomplish what Massachusetts and Connecticut already gained.
In Hawaii, the House of Representatives is expected next week to vote on same-sex civil unions in the state. The House Judiciary Committee recently made a unanimous vote to allow the civil unions after hours of public testimony.
The bill would allow same-sex partners affords the same rights, benefits and protections that state law provides to married couples. If the Legislature approves the bill, the state Senate would then have to consider the bill.
Vermont may soon take a further step in LGBT rights. After nine years since it first legalized same-sex unions, the state is introducing a bill that would make marriage legal. A similar bill is expected to be introduced later in the Vermont Senate Senate.
While many LGBT people seek the right to marry, others are seeking the right to divorce. In case bigots can’t grasp the concept and throw their red herring arguments, this doesn’t mean gays and lesbians have a low esteem of marriage.
Rather than special privileges geared at disjointing a nation, gays and lesbians seeking one thing and one thing only: equality to do with our lives as we please; the same rights that our heterosexual friends and families are able to accomplish in their lives.
