Free Republic

Bishop Gene Robinson, whose 2003 election as the first openly gay Episcopal bishop rocked Anglican Communion, has announced his divorce from his longtime partner and husband. Robinson, who retired in 2013 as the Bishop of New Hampshire, and his partner of 25 years, Mark Andrew, were married in a private civil union in 2008. The announcement was made public Saturday (May 3) in a statement to the Diocese of New Hampshire. “As you can imagine, this is a difficult time for us — not a decision entered into lightly or without much counseling,” Robinson wrote in a letter. “We ask...

BOSTON – A lesbian couple who led the fight for gay marriage in Massachusetts has filed for divorce. Julie and Hillary Goodridge were among seven gay couples who filed a lawsuit that led to a court ruling making Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriages in 2004. The couple became the public face of the debate in the state and married the first day same-sex marriages became legal.

A gay Dallas man who married his husband in 2006 when they lived in Massachusetts has filed what is believed to be Texas’ first same-sex divorce petition.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A lesbian couple that married in Massachusetts cannot get divorced in their home state of Rhode Island, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday. The court, in a 3-2 decision, said the state's family court lacks the authority to grant the divorce of a same-sex couple because Rhode Island lawmakers have not defined marriage as anything other than a union between a man and a woman. "The role of the judicial branch is not to make policy, but simply to determine the legislative intent," the court wrote. Cassandra Ormiston and Margaret Chambers wed in Massachusetts in 2004 and...

This week British Columbia’s Supreme Court granted their first ever, same sex divorce. CBC News Reports: Two women who got married in Parksville two years ago have been granted a divorce by a B.C. Supreme Court judge in Nanaimo. Gay and lesbians in B.C. won the legal right to marry in 2003, sparking a wedding boom. Among the gays and lesbians who decided to get married was a woman who can only be identified – by court order – by her initials, J.S. But the marriage didn't work out. And J.S. filed for divorce last year. But she says she...

Iowa high court refuses to change civil union dissolution Published: 06/17/2005 10:54 AM By: Associated Press - Associated Press DES MOINES, IA - The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday refused to tamper with a lower court decision granting two women a dissolution of their civil union. In a unanimous ruling, the court said a conservative group that had sued to overturn the ruling had no standing in the case. In the case, Kimberly Jean Brown had filed for divorce from Jennifer Sue Perez. Their divorce petition said the two were married in March 2002 in Bolton, Vt., and asked for...

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- Less than seven months after same-sex couples began tying the knot in Massachusetts, the state is seeing its first gay divorces. Newlyweds seeking to renounce the vows they so recently took have been trickling into probate courts across the state, filling out obsolete forms that still read "husband" and "wife." Josh Friedes, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Freedom to Marry Coalition, said the rapid divorces are no cause for concern. "It would be wonderful if every marriage lasted until a couple lived to a ripe old age, but unfortunately we know from our heterosexual peers that...

A homosexual couple that was issued a "marriage license" by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in February is now seeking a "divorce." The couple, which has not been identified for privacy reasons, is waiting on the California Supreme Court to decide whether the 3,955 licenses obtained at San Francisco's City Hall during a 29-day period are valid. As WorldNetDaily reported, Newsom oversaw the first officially sanctioned same-sex marriages in American history Feb. 12. If the high court voids the licenses, no further action will be taken, the San Jose Mercury News reported. The paper notes the breakup has political repercussions...

Some 30 years ago, I attended a dinner party at Christmas time whose guest of honor was Richard Cardinal Cushing. At the time, there had been a number of stories in the media about whether or not the Chuuch should allow priests to marry. The Cardinal, over a brandy and a cigar, was asked his opinion. "Married?" he asked. "Let them get married? But what would we do when they want to get divorced?" Today's events in Massachussets remind us that sometimes we get what we don't expect.