CNN reports an Iowa judge’s granting of a divorce for a Vermont civil union (excerpt):
Neary, a district judge for Woodbury County, said he routinely signs divorces and doesn’t check the participants’ gender. When he discovered what had happened last month, said he confronted Dennis Ringgenberg, attorney for one of the women.
“I said this is probably going to be a controversial matter at some point in time,” Neary said, “and he smiled and said, ‘You’re right.”‘
Neary, who was appointed in January by Gov. Tom Vilsack, said he had the opportunity to change his mind but decided against it — the divorce was permissible, he said, under a constitutional clause that requires states to recognize laws of other states.
“If I’m presented with a dispute that has to be resolved in my courtroom, or is before me that affects the rights of Iowans, I feel an obligation to solve that problem,” Neary said. “I don’t believe I’m recognizing same-sex marriage.”
The women, Kimberly Brown, 31, and Jennifer S. Perez, 26, who have Sioux City addresses, were joined in a civil union March 25, 2002, in Bolton, Vermont.
Judges in Texas and Connecticut have rejected requests for civil union divorces, said University of Iowa law professor Ann Estin.