The WaPo article reports,
Until recently, it was up in the air whether out-of-state couples could marry in Massachusetts. In September, a Massachusetts judge decided that nothing in Rhode Island law specifically banned same-sex marriage and said Rhode Island couples could legally marry there.
"Now the ultimate question is whether the state will recognize or determine whether it has jurisdiction to handle an out-of-state divorce when we don't have any case law that accepts or rejects same-sex marriage," Pulner said.
Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said it is up to the courts and legislature to decide whether the state recognizes same-sex unions.
Courts nationwide could soon find themselves facing similar dilemmas, especially as more and more same-sex couples are married in Massachusetts, said Janet Halley, a professor at Harvard Law School. Marital status could become an issue in insurance, benefits and custody.
This gets interesting. If the courts rule on the divorce, will the fact that the court recognizes that the marriage did, in fact, exist, set a precedent in the state, enabling other couples to marry and claim legality? This is surely going to be happening in other states too.
This is a case worth following.
