JACKSON, Miss. — A DeSoto County woman’s case went before the Mississippi Supreme Court Wednesday.
Lauren Beth Czekala-Chatham has been trying to get a divorce from her same-sex spouse for years, but the Mississippi State Constitution and other laws don’t recognize same-sex marriage.
“I’ve lived in the state for 35 years and I should be able to get divorced in the state,” Czekala-Chatham told WREG.
Court documents show Czekala-Chatham and her partner went to California to get married in 2008. They lived together in Mississippi until July 2010.
The documents said Czekala-Chatham filed for divorce in 2013, citing adultery and other issues.
The state denied her the divorce, citing the Constitution.
Section 263A states, “…A marriage in another state or foreign jurisdiction between persons of the same gender, regardless of when the marriage took place, may not be recognized in this state and is void and unenforceable under the laws of this state.”
Both sides presented their oral arguments to the Supreme Court Wednesday.
Czekala-Chatham’s attorney said his client is trapped.
“I think the court clearly can say we are not going to recognize same-sex marriages in terms of the future and grant benefits and marriage for the future but that we will for the purposes of divorce,” attorney Carey Varnado said.
The state Attorney General’s Office argued that states have the right to determine their own rules about marriage.
“In order to be able to grant a divorce, you have to recognize that there was a marriage in the first place,” attorney Justin Matheny said.
Matheny said one of the reasons the state doesn’t recognize gay marriage is because traditional marriages promote the birth of children. He said Czekala-Chatham could get a divorce in the same state she was married in.
One of the justices questioned why Mississippi doesn’t recognize gay marriage only in the capacity of divorce, which he feels fits with the state’s policies.
“Why aren’t we inviting same sex persons to come into Mississippi and get divorces, so they become unmarried persons, which seems to fulfill that purpose?” he said.
Czekala-Chatham said she has heard many negative things from her peers in the LGBTQ community, because many people want to be married, while she wants a divorce.
The Mississippi Supreme Court could reach a decision any time between now and mid-August, according to a media representative.
However, many of the justices discussed the possibility of waiting to rule on the case until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a gay marriage case, which will likely happen this summer.
