For homosexuals, divorce may soon be a useful right
As the Supreme Judicial Court decision allowing same-sex marriage was being hailed as a huge victory for gay and lesbian couples, largely lost in the celebration was recognition of an equally powerful benefit that flows from the ruling: the right to divorce.
"People aren't coming out to celebrate the right to divorce," said Suzanne Goldberg, a professor at Rutgers School of Law in Newark. "But it may turn out that the right to divorce is as important to celebrate as the right to marry."
Last month, as the SJC became the first state supreme court to rule that same-sex couples have the legal right to wed, euphoric supporters popped champagne corks. Gays and lesbians across the state proposed to their partners, and some began to plan elaborate weddings.
Hardly anyone was thinking about getting divorced. But in a nation where roughly half of married couples split up, analysts expect that a...