Two women are married into a civil union marriage done in Vermont. A year later one woman leaves and marries a man without ending the civil union marriage. My question is...
1. Is this illegal?
2. How do you divorce a person of same sex?
3. Because the civil-union was never ended does that mean that the man & woman aren't really married but the two women are still married?
Please let me know where you got your information.
2006-11-27 11:45:22 · 5 answers · asked by SaVannah 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Because of the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, civil unions or gay marriages are exempted from the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution and other states do not recognize them. Also, the federal government does not recognize civil unions or gay marriages. If a gay couple has a civil union in Vermont and one of the partners marries someone of the opposite sex in New Hampshire, the straight marriage is federally recognized and recognized in all 50 states. Since the straight marriage is also recognized in Vermont where there is already a civil union, it would be the equivalent of bigamy and would be handled by Vermont family court. Since the civil union is not recognized by the other states, it is not considered illegal in any other state or by the federal government. If a gay couple wants to end their civil union, they can only do so in Vermont.
2006-11-27 12:04:05 · answer #1 · answered by χριστοφορος ▽ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well...
First the Civil Unions in Vermont are NOT a Marriage and do not carry the same benefits as a Marriage(calling it a marriage is simply an untrue statement).
Second, because those Unions are only recognized in Vermont, the Union would be considered to be non-existent anywhere else and therefore she would be free to marry in any place that did not recognize the Union.
I believe that a Dissolution of that union would have to be granted in Vermont, otherwise she could just stay away from the areas that did not recognize the union and be done with it(in other states that did not recognize the union, there would be no legal ties).
This can of worms is the direct effect of the Defense of Marriage Act(but honestly, if someone had enough money to challenge it it could be overturned with the help of those examples that you mentioned in addition to the fact that it directly opposes the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the US Constitution)..
2006-11-27 19:59:18 · answer #2 · answered by IndyT- For Da Ben Dan 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The same rules apply for same sex marriages as man & women marriages. They also get all the benifits of Man & woman marriages. To desolve it the same rules apply To file for divorce one party must live in state for 6 mo. or more. For a final decree one party must have lived in state for 1 year or more. The Vermont Guide To Civil Unions, According to Vermont law unless they got a divorce like everyone else they are still legaly married.
2006-11-27 20:10:07 · answer #3 · answered by BUTCH 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don't know for sure but i think it would be like a regular marriage. the same holds for common law marriages in states that have them... even though they were never legally married they have the same rules as if they were when it comes to divorce
2006-11-27 19:59:53 · answer #4 · answered by Ron N 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Civil union is the same thing as marriage, you just spell it differently to confuse people. Marriage between people of the same sex is not legal in any state. It is also extremely disgusting that perverts would even want to publicly acknowledge that they are perverts,. The whole thing is just perverted.
2006-11-27 19:50:23 · answer #5 · answered by Mr Marc 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋