Much has been written about the unanswered questions arising from the Supreme Court's DOMA decision, chief among them the status of people who got married where same-sex marriage is legal, in New York, say, but live where it's not, Indiana, for example. Do they or do they not qualify for federal benefits? Here's an unexpected twist:
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana man who married his same-sex partner in Massachusetts is testing his home state's legal boundaries, having filed a divorce petition there despite the state's refusal to recognize such unions.
Donald Schultz Lee doesn't meet the residency requirement for a divorce in Massachusetts, so his attorney filed his petition to divorce Justin Schultz Lee with the Marion County clerk's office in Indianapolis.
Clerk Beth White told WISH-TV that last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act is likely to "create some situations I think all around the state of Indiana that many of us are not used to handling."
"Situations many of us are not used to handling." No kidding. My immediate reaction is that you can't negate something where it's not recognized in the first place, but that's just my common sense talking. Heaven knows how the lawyers will get a court so see it. Schultz says he isn't rying to be a pioneer, he simply wants to get on with his life. As long as he stays in Indiana or moves to any state but 12 of them, he can do that already. Dude, you aint' married, OK?
