February 18, 2009
Bill proposed to allow same-sex divorce in RI
David Foucher READ TIME: 1 MIN.
PROVIDENCE, R.I.-Same-sex couples would be allowed to divorce in Rhode Island under legislation introduced in the General Assembly.
The bill is in response to a 2007 state Supreme Court decision that blocked a lesbian couple who wed in Massachusetts from getting divorced in Rhode Island, where the women lived.
Sen. Erin Lynch, a Warwick Democrat and the bill's sponsor, said same-sex couples are sometimed forced to stay married when they don't want to be.
The Supreme Court ruled in December 2007 that the Family Court could not grant a divorce to Cassandra Ormiston and Margaret Chambers because state law has not defined marriage as anything other than between a man and a woman.
Lynch's bill would allow same-sex couples to divorce in Rhode Island even if their marriage wouldn't be recognized under state law.
David Foucher is the CEO of the EDGE Media Network and Pride Labs LLC, is a member of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalist Association, and is accredited with the Online Society of Film Critics. David lives with his daughter in Dedham MA.
