Proponents of gay marriage were granted what was considered a huge victory at the end of June as the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a law which denied federal benefits to same-sex couples. But now that those supporters of LGBT equality finally have the right to a federally recognized marriage, they’re already looking ahead — to divorce.
With not every state recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples, those legally married in one state may have a hard time untying their long-fought-for knot if they move to a place where their union isn’t recognized.
“It’s not always clear if you’re moving to a state that doesn’t recognize your marriage at the state level, since divorce is regulated by the state, if you can actually get divorced,” said Jeff Krehely, vice president and chief foundation officer at the Human Rights Campaign.
Krehely proudly proclaims that he is “gay-married” to a lawyer, but while speaking on a panel at Generation Progress‘ — formally known as Campus Progress — conference Wednesday, he said that LGBT rights aren’t synonymous to marriage-equality rights and still have a long ways to go.
Some states, such as Iowa and Massachusetts, don’t differentiate on divorce forms whether the couple is homosexual or heterosexual. But while studies like to show that states which allow for same-sex marriage have lower divorce rates, it’s not that simple to determine. Gay marriage is still fairly new to the U.S. which makes the issue of divorce even more contemporary.
“Because same-sex marriage is so new in the U.S., we really do not have a long enough track record to give accurate divorce statistics,” Jennifer Glass, a sociologist at the University of Texas, Austin, told the Wall Street Journal in May.
Krehely said the next step for LGBT supporters is to stray away from the “marriage-equality umbrella” and focus on other issues that are less publicized, such as health benefits for transgender people and LGBT-youth homelessness. He claimed that LGBT youth will make up about 40 percent of the youth homeless population because they face rejection from friends and family when coming out.
