IANAL, but i think ahead! Given the fact that several states (the bird-brained massachusetts supreme court says gay marriage is OK) are thinking of authorizing same-sex marriage, I can see a need for divorces from those unions. Possible grounds:
-incompatible color prefernece “the purple curtains are too much!”
-incompatible taste in sex: “he wanted to &^%$# me”!
-lifestyle differences “I just wanted to cruise abit”
Given the fact that heteros divorce at 50% of unions, who is going to write the pioneering laws governing gay divorces?
Leaving aside your remarks about the Mass SJC (with a glance at the “no politics in GQ” rule), and also leaving aside your rather homophobic suggested grounds, why would you think that the grounds for divorce of a same-sex couple would be any different than those for a mixed-sex couple? There will be no need to write special divorce laws for same-sex couples; the existing ones will do just fine.
Should any such laws need to be written, then the legislators of the state(s) in question would write them, just like they do every other law.
Divorce is divorce, the sexual orientation of the people in the marriage doesn’t appear to make one whit of difference. A bigger, and more interesting issue, is what is going to happen when people attempt to get a divorce in a State other than the one they had gotten married in. For example A judge in Iowa recently granted a divorce to a couple that had been married in Vermont. That judge is under fire by the religious right for recognizing a civil union, but he rightly insists that there needs to be some kind of precedent in this area to decide how other states are going to recognize marriages in other states.
And you may want to lose the not-so-subtle stereotyping of homosexuals, and I personally found your OP to be insulting.
Minor nitpick; the couple was joined in civil union in Vermont, not married.
A similar case happened in Texas earlier this year. In that case the judge granted the divorce initially, then after the Texas attorney general intervened vacted his decision, ruling that since the couple was not married in the eyes of the laws of Texas there coupld be no divorce. In (I think) Conneticutt a judge dismissed a divorce case for a civilly united couple, ruling that since CT did not recognize civil unions the parties had no standing (or the court had no jurisdiction, which isn’t the same thing at all) to access the courts.
sigh Though the OP looks less like a question than it does a Pit rant directed at MA. Here is a genuine answer nonetheless:
To file for an at fault divorce in MA, one of several “acceptable grounds” for divorce must be proven with evidence:
*Cruel and Abusive Treatment
- Adultery
- Impotency
- Nonsupport
- Gross and confirmed habits of intoxication
- Prison sentence of at least five years
For a no fault divorce:
You must have been voluntarily separated for at least 18 months without cohabitation (without a single night under the same roof and without any sexual intercourse) before you can file for an absolute divorce.
I’m sure the OP snarks above can fall under one of the above catgories for no fault and at fault divorce.
Miscellaneous:
There are also specific provision for spouses who are incarcerated for a felony or misdemeanor (less than 5 years) or confined to a mental institution.
i n n a p r o p r i a t e
Gay marriages would be happy ones so why would a happy marriage need to be dissolved?
Homosexual marriage works exactly the same way as heterosexual marriage where I live.
Keep politics out of General Questions
There is no need for special grounds for gay marriages and certainly no need for the borderline homophobic grounds you listed. In the unlikely event there were such a need, it would be filled by same lawmakers that write laws governing hetero divorces.
This is closed.
DrMatrix - GQ Moderator