MIAMI (AP) – A Miami-based appeals court has ruled that a same-sex couple married in Iowa cannot get a divorce in Florida in a case that did not challenge the state’s ban on gay marriage.
The 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled Dec. 24 that a lower court was correct in 2012 when it dismissed the divorce petition filed by Sarah Oliver and Heather Stufflebeam because Florida does not recognize their marriage.
The appeals court pointed out that neither woman sought to challenge the ban. They claimed only that the ban didn’t apply to divorces.
Several federal and state judges have ruled this year that the Florida gay marriage ban is unconstitutional, which the state is appealing. A Broward County judge granted the state’s first gay divorce Dec. 17 using the same reasoning.
