Below, you will find an article from the Indy Star. As the article states, "...an appeal in the Indiana case would have to addresss a 1997 law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman and bars recognition of same sex marriage from other states."It will be interesting to see if this case gains traction or dies on the vine.
"Woman to appeal denial of same-sex divorce"
By Jon Murray
Posted: September 25, 2009
A Hoosier woman who entered into a same-sex marriage in Canada plans to appeal a Marion County court's refusal this month to grant the couple a divorce, her attorney says.
Marion Superior Court issued an order Sept. 4 dismissing the separated couple's request for a divorce. Tara Ranzy and Larissa Chism were married in 2005 in Toronto.
They lived in Pennsylvania at the time but since had settled in the South Bend area, and they filed for divorce in Marion County after Ranzy hired an Indianapolis attorney.
Attorney Karen Jensen said today that Ranzy authorized her to file a notice of appeal of the order and pursue the issue at the Indiana Court of Appeals.
The case illustrates the difficulty of divorce for married gay and lesbian couples who live in states that don't recognize same-sex marriages. Their marriages are void at home, and they can't request divorces in Canada or the handful of states that allow same-sex marriages because of residency requirements that require at least one member to live there six months or even longer.
An appeal in the Indiana case would have to address a 1997 Indiana law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman and bars recognition of same-sex marriages from other states.
The court's order, signed by Commissioner Jeffrey Marchal and Judge Heather Welch, says that law bars the court from recognizing Ranzy and Chism's marriage at all, even for purposes of divorce.
Call Star reporter Jon Murray at (317) 444-2752.
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