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Judge Says Married Women Can't Divorce In Alabama

A judge says two women who were legally married in Iowa can't divorce in Alabama, which doesn't recognize same-sex marriages.
Jewel Samad
/
AFP/Getty Images
A judge says two women who were legally married in Iowa can't divorce in Alabama, which doesn't recognize same-sex marriages.

A judge says two women who were legally married in Iowa can't divorce in Alabama, which doesn't recognize same-sex marriages.

Circuit Judge Karen Hall of Huntsville issued a brief order Wednesday throwing out the uncontested divorce of Shrie Michelle Richmond and Kirsten Allysse Richmond.

Shrie Richmond filed the complaint this month saying the two were legally married in Dubuque, Iowa, in 2012. The suit says the two women no longer get along and want a divorce.

The other woman didn't fight the divorce, but the judge's decision says the case is being dismissed because Alabama still prohibits same-sex unions.

The Iowa Supreme Court overturned that state's ban on gay marriages in 2009, and state law requires couples seeking a divorce in the state to live there for one year beforehand.

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