A little background. Two men married in Massachusetts in 2006. At some point they moved to Texas. Their relationship fell apart, as many a marriage does. They filed for divorce in Dallas in 2009.
And that is where it gets complicated.
The lawfully married men filed for divorce in early 2009. As discussed Here. Just as hundreds or thousands of Texas couples do ever day. However, this was the first same-sex divorce case in Texas.
Of course, the Texas Attorney General could not imagine any sort of same-sex marriage recognition. So, the Attorney General intervened on this divorce proceeding about a month after it was filed. The Attorney General opined that:
Because the parties' Massachusetts-issued arrangement is not a marriage under Texas law, they are asking a Texas court to recognize — and dissolve — something that does not legally exist. These two men are seeking a court ruling that challenges the Texas Constitution, therefore the Office of the Attorney General will intervene to defend Texas law — and the will of Texas voters.
[Full Story].
In response (to her credit) the Trial Court Judge decided the Attorney General should not be involved and, going further, found Texas' anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment unconstitutional:
In an Oct. 1, 2009, order, 302nd District Judge Tena Callahan ruled that the state's constitutional and statutory provisions prohibiting recognition of same-sex marriages in Texas violate the right to equal protection and therefore the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Callahan found that she has jurisdiction to hear the divorce of J.B. and H.B., who were legally married in Massachusetts and currently meet the residency and other requirements to file for divorce in Dallas County. The judge also denied the OAG's motion to intervene
[Full Story]
The Texas Attorney General could not let this stand and appealed. Today, the Texas Fifth Circuit Appellate Court (Dallas and surrounding areas), held that the Judge was wrong, and the Texas (anti-gay) constitutional amendment was not unconstitutional.
[The Court's opinion]
While the opinion is worth a read the gist is the Texas constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage also prohibits gay divorce.
To sum, Texas hates gay marriage so much that it will not allow lawfully married gay couples to divorce.