PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Rhode Island's Supreme Court says a lesbian couple who married in Massachusetts cannot get divorced in their home state.
The 3-2 split decision came yesterday.
In the majority opinion, Justice William Robinson III says that the General Assembly has not given the Family Court the power to grant divorces for same-sex couples.
Cassandra Ormiston and Margaret Chambers wed in Massachusetts in 2004 after that state became the first to legalize same-sex marriages. The couple filed for divorce last year in Rhode Island, where they both live.
Lawyers for the women had said they should consider only whether Rhode Island could recognize a valid marriage from another state. Opponents of same-sex marriage said granting the divorce would create a slippery slope.
