JACKSON — A woman has asked a Mississippi court to throw out a divorce petition filed by the wife she married in California, arguing that Mississippi can’t grant a divorce because it doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage.
Lauren Beth Czekala-Chatham and Dana Ann Melancon traveled to California to get married in 2008, but they lived together in Southaven, Miss. Czekala-Chatham still lives in Mississippi. Melancon lives in Arkansas.
Czekala-Chatham filed for divorce in north Mississippi’s DeSoto County Chancery Court on Sept. 11. She wants Mississippi to recognize the marriage so she can get a divorce.
Melancon’s lawyer, Chad Reeves, filed a motion Monday to dismiss the divorce complaint.
The motion cites Mississippi statue: “Any marriage between persons of the same gender is prohibited and null and void from the beginning. Any marriage between persons of the same gender that is valid in another jurisdiction does not constitute a legal or valid marriage in Mississippi.”
“Even though the parties were legally married in California, the State of Mississippi lacks any legal basis to grant the Plaintiff a divorce because there is no marriage to dissolve under the laws of this state,” Reeves wrote.
A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 2.
Reeves told The Associated Press that he’s willing to withdraw the motion to dismiss and let the case play out in court if the two sides can agree on a settlement of property and finances.
Reeves said he’s negotiating those matters with Czekala-Chatham’s lawyer, Wesley Hisaw.
“I’ll make it hard on them if they make hard on us. And I’ll make it easy on them if they make it easy on us,” Reeves said Wednesday in a telephone interview.
Still, Reeves said the Mississippi attorney general’s office is likely to get involved because the divorce challenges state law.
“At that point, I wouldn’t really have a dog in the fight, as long as we resolve our issues. I’ll sit back and let Mr. Hisaw and the attorney general’s office fight it out and see what the court decides,” Reeves said.
Hisaw said Wednesday that he thinks the two sides are close to resolving the financial matters.
Hisaw says that even if the divorce case is successful, it would not mean that same-sex couples could get married in Mississippi because that’s banned under state statute. He says his client only wants the marriage recognized so she can get a divorce.
Czekala-Chatham could potentially pursue a divorce in California, but the California courts may not be able to issue rulings on matters such as property ownership, according to the state’s court website.
