Broward County Judge Dale Cohen, who in August ruled that the state must recognize same-sex marriages performed out of state and recently re-affirmed that decision, has granted the state's first gay divorce. The decision comes on the heels of the announcement from the U.S. Supreme Court that Justice Clarence Thomas will consider to stay another Florida Judge's ruling striking down the state's same-sex marriage ban. The AP reports:
Circuit Judge Dale Cohen on Wednesday dissolved the marriage of Heather Brassner and Megan Lade. They were united in a 2002 civil union in Vermont. Cohen had ruled in August that Florida's gay marriage ban is unconstitutional and that out-of-state gay marriages should be recognized.
Brassner attorney Nancy Brodzki said it was Florida's first gay divorce.
Brodzki says she expects Attorney General Pam Bondi to appeal the decision, just as she has several other rulings against the gay marriage ban. There was no immediate reaction from Bondi's office.
Voters approved the ban in 2008.
