Texas Court: Gay Couples Can't Divorce

First it accidentally banned straight marriage: Now Texas has officially banned gay divorce. A state appeals court ruled yesterday that gay couples who legally marry in other states cannot get a divorce in Texas. The ruling follows a judge's October 2009 decision to allow two Dallas men who were married in Massachusetts to get a divorce. The court of appeals decision also said the state's same-sex marriage ban was constitutional, reports the AP.

"A person does not and cannot seek a divorce without simultaneously asserting the existence and validity of a lawful marriage," read the decision. "Texas law, as embodied in our constitution and statutes, requires that a valid marriage must be a union of one man and one woman, and only when a union comprises one man and one woman can there be a divorce under Texas law." (More Texas gay marriage stories.)