A Texas state appeals court in Dallas rejected a decision by a lower court that a gay couple who legally married in Massachusetts could get divorced in Texas, according to the Dallas Morning News.
State District Judge Tena Callahan ruled, in October of 2009, that the couple had the right to legally end the marriage and the state's same-sex marriage ban was a violation of the federal constitutional right to equal protection.
The 5th District Court of Appeals in Dallas reversed the decision on Tuesday and instructed Callahan dismiss the case.
In Texas, same-sex marriages and civil unions are banned by an amendment to the state Constitution and the Texas Family Code that was voter-approved. The panel on Tuesday, consisting of three judges, said the trial court wrongly ruled the provisions violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
Justice Kerry P. Fitzgerald wrote in the decision: "We hold that Texas district courts do not have subject-matter jurisdiction to hear a same-sex divorce case."
The couple, who identify as J.B. and H.B. in court records, got married in 2006 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They returned to Dallas and separated two years later. In January of 2008, J.B. sued to have the union dissolved, citing "discord or conflict of personalities."
As a Dallas County resident, he would have to return to Massachusetts and regain legal residency there in order to obtain a divorce from the state where the couple married. The other option is to appeal the divorce case to the Texas Supreme Court.
Peter Schulte, the Dallas attorney who represented J.B. in the divorce filing, said: "We are disappointed with the justices' decision, but we respect the court and process and are evaluating our options about moving forward."
In an interview last year, J.B. stated that the marriage was "not entered into lightly" and it was a painful breakup. "I believe all people should have the same rights to do what they want with their private lives," he added.
The Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, stepped in to the case to argue that due to Texas not recognizing gay marriage, a Texas court cannot dissolve one through divorce.
Callahan, a Democrat, dismissed the attorney general's move and claimed her court had jurisdiction to take a divorce case "filed by persons legally married in another jurisdiction."
Abbott plans to appeal the ruling "to defend the traditional definition of marriage that was approved by Texas voters."
In arguments in front of the panel of judges, all Republicans, attorneys for the state and Plano-based conservative Liberty Institute reiterated claims that in order to recognize same-sex divorce, Texas would also have to recognize same-sex marriage.
Abbott applauded the ruling in a statement on Tuesday: "Because the Constitution and laws of the state of Texas define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, the court correctly ruled that Texas courts do not have authority to grant a same-sex divorce."
Jody Scheske, the Austin attorney on J.B.'s appeal case, still disagrees. "Eventually all married couples in the state of Texas will have equal access to divorce," he said following the ruling. "Unfortunately this decision denies that to one segment of society, same-sex couples. We think the holding is not constitutional as we argued to the court, and we look forward to further appeal."
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