Kentucky divorce a step toward same-sex marriage right: advocates

By Steve Bittenbender LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) - Same-sex couples still unable to wed in Kentucky have seen at least one step toward marital rights in the state after a judge granted a couple married somewhere else a divorce, gay rights advocates said on Tuesday. Two women who were married in Massachusetts and later moved to Louisville, Kentucky, were granted the divorce in December by Judge Joseph O'Reilly in Jefferson County's Family Court. Lawyers waited until Monday to publicize the case, a first for Kentucky, so that it could not be challenged, according to the Courier-Journal newspaper in Louisville. O'Reilly's term on the court expired at the end of December. "It is somberly historic," said Chris Hartman, director of Louisville's Fairness Campaign. Hartman said the divorce was a step toward full legal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual couples in Kentucky, which bans same-sex marriage. This isn’t the first time a judge has issued such a ruling. In December, a Broward County, Florida, judge granted a divorce to a woman who had entered into a civil union in Vermont in 2002. Florida did not recognize same-sex marriage at that time, but a federal judge lifted Florida's ban last week. Same-sex marriage is now legal in 36 states plus the District of Columbia. A federal judge on Monday also ruled unconstitutional South Dakota's ban on same-sex marriage but put her ruling on hold pending appeals. Several U.S. appeals courts have struck down bans on same-sex marriage and one, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that includes Kentucky, has upheld bans. The split increases the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will take up the matter. Evan Wolfson, founder of New York-based Freedom to Marry, said that granting divorces is a big step toward gay couples having the same rights and protections as other married couples. "It’s an affirmation by the court that gay people exist," Wolfson said. "Unfortunately, that's still a big statement to have to make in Kentucky." (Reporting by Steve Bittenbender; Editing by David Bailey and Eric Beech)