A New Development In The Gay Marriage Debate

Yesterday, New Jersey State Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson, in an oral ruling, said that gay marriages performed outside of the state will be recognized for the purpose of divorce, which paves the way for La Kia and Kinyati Hammond, married four years ago in B.C., to legally end their relationship.

La Kia Hammond, who was represented by the ACLU, and Kinyati Hammond, had been living in Maryland when La Kia was diagnosed with a terminal form of muscular dystrophy. The couple relocated to New Jersey in 2006 and now La Kia is looking to marry another woman in Canada before she dies. The state attorney general's office had argued that she be granted a dissolution of a civil union, instead of a divorce. But Hammond had said that without a valid divorce, Canadian authorities might not allow her to remarry, a counter-argument Jacobson found compelling.

New Jersey does not permit gay marriages but has a history dating back to the 1800s of recognizing the validity of marriages where they were peformed. Jacobson's decision partially overrules the state attorney general's order that determined that New Jersey would not fully recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere. Judges in Rhode Island, Oklahoma and Texas have denied divorces, although New York allows them.