Travis County gay divorce stands

[sonias]

AAS 3/31/10
Attorney general intervention denied; Travis County gay divorce stands
Judge says Dallas case would likely reach the Texas Supreme Court, which could establish whether same-sex couples married elsewhere may legally divorce in Texas

A judge in Travis County declined Wednesday to consider Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's request to intervene in the county's first same-sex divorce case, letting stand the judge's February decision to grant a divorce to two women who had been married in another state.

Abbott's deputies had argued in court filings that Angelique Naylor, 39, and Sabina Daly, 42, may not be legally granted a divorce because Texas law defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Naylor and Daly were married in 2004 in Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal. They returned to their home in Austin after their marriage and adopted a son, who is now 4.

During a hearing at the Heman Sweatt Travis County Courthouse, state District Judge Scott Jenkins questioned Abbott's decision to pursue the case, noting that his office is involved in same-sex divorce litigation in Dallas that is already on appeal. That case, Jenkins said, is positioned to provide legal precedent on the legality of gay divorce. He suggested that a delayed disposition in the Travis County case could affect Naylor and Daly's son.

"In trying to put brakes on this proceeding," Jenkins asked Deputy Attorney General David Morales, "what consideration did the attorney general give" to the boy?

:bounce:

[tammywammy]

1. Great news! n/t

[WolverineDG]

2. Keep it up, Greggie, & Texas will be known for not only legalizing gay sex,

we'll be the state that gets SCOTUS to overturn Reynolds (polygamy).

dg

[Manifestor_of_Light]

3. Abbott no comprende Full Faith & Credit Clause of Constitution.

BTW, Heman Sweatt was the plaintiff in Sweatt v. Painter.

Mr. Sweatt tried to enroll at the University of Texas Law School and was denied admission because of his race. This decision later led to the establishment of the Texas Southern University Law School under separate but equal, when TSU was Texas State College for Negroes.

[sonias]

4. Heman Sweatt

Coincidentally the 24th Annual Heman Sweatt Symposium on Civil Rights is just around the corner this month at UT-Austin.

Heman Sweatt Symposium web site
You are cordially invited to attend the 24th Annual Heman Sweatt Symposium on Civil Rights, April 22-23, 2010, on The University of Texas at Austin campus. The symposium is coordinated by the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement and sponsored by several university departments. The annual symposium honors the legacy of Heman Marion Sweatt, the first African American to attend The University of Texas School of Law.

Themed, “60 Years of Integration: Civil Rights Then and Now,” the symposium will examine the impact of the Sweatt Decision (Sweatt v. Painter) on diversity at The University of Texas at Austin today.

:kick: