AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – The Texas Supreme Court has upheld the Austin divorce of a same-sex couple, rejecting challenges in a state where gay marriage remains outlawed.
The court ruled Friday that the state lacks standing to intervene in the divorce of Angelique Naylor and Sabina Daly, who were married in Massachusetts in 2004. The decision has no impact on Texas’ gay marriage ban, but comes ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision expected later this month on legalizing same-sex marriage.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott challenged the divorce while he was still attorney general. He argued that a divorce couldn’t be granted in a state where the marriage isn’t recognized as valid.
The all-Republican court didn’t address that issue, but instead ruled that the state simply waited too long to intervene in the divorce.