NJ Judge Grants Lesbians Divorce

A New Jersey judge has approved the divorce of a lesbian couple who married in Canada.

Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson, sitting in Trenton, said the state has a long history of recognizing marriages that are valid in the country or state where they are performed. The state Attorney General's Office has argued that the union of La Kia Hammond of Trenton and Kinyati Hammond of New Castle, Del., should be dissolved instead as a civil union -- the New Jersey institution that gives gay couples the legal benefits of marriage. La Kia Hammond said she needs a divorce that would be recognized in Canada so she can marry another woman there. Her lawyer said that a civil union dissolution might not be sufficient in Canada.

It's unclear what precedent this ruling may set, if any.