North Dakota to Let Man in Same-Sex Marriage Wed Woman, Too
[North Dakota
to Let Man in Same-Sex Marriage Wed
Woman, Too by Frances Martel] "North
Dakota Attorney General Wayne
Stenehjem filed a legal opinion last
week confirming that the state does
not recognize out-of-state same-sex
marriages, allowing a man married to
another man to come to North Dakota
and marry a woman without divorcing
his husband.
While many wildly speculated that
the legalization of same-sex
marriage could lead to polygamy,
they probably never thought it would
be like this. Presented with a legal
hypothetical, Attorney General
Stenehjem answered three questions:
whether someone in a same-sex
marriage in another state can also
receive a marriage license to
someone of the opposite sex in North
Dakota, whether they can file legal
documents as "Single" when they
possess a same-sex marriage license
in another state, and whether this
would open the individual up for
prosecution under another state's
bigamy laws. The Attorney General's
response can be read in full PDF
form
here.
The answer to all these questions,
essentially, is that a person can
legally possess two marriage
licenses in North Dakota, because a
same-sex marriage license is not
recognized. The Attorney General did
not comment on whether such a
situation would lead to a bigamy
charge in another state, suggesting
it was "inappropriate" to comment on
laws outside of North Dakota.
North Dakota's constitution
prohibits same-sex marriage since
the state voted to amend it in 2004,
and the state has an additional
statute prohibiting same-sex unions
from valid recognition. Marriages
performed outside of the state are
also recognized in North Dakota only
when they do not violate the laws of
North Dakota, which would already
invalidate same-sex marriages, but
the statute goes further to
explicitly cite the illegitimacy of
same-sex marriages in that state.
In addition to state laws permitting
this activity, the Attorney General
cites one of the few provisions in
the Defense of Marriage Act still
standing after this summer's Supreme
Court decision: no state can be made
to respect a same-sex marriage
license from another state.
North Dakota's strict laws against
same-sex unions had previously led
to tax issues, as well, with the
state requesting that anyone holding
a same-sex marriage license in
another state file their taxes as a
single person, essentially
eliminating the tax benefits that
come with a marriage. Without even
looking at the moral implications of
forcing a couple with a legal
marriage license to declare
themselves single, this clearly
looks like a recipe for tax code
disaster. This opinion in
particular, which allows a
heterosexual union even when there
previously exists a homosexual one,
creates a situation in which three
individuals are bound and three
individuals are filing as married to
each other. Because of the
Constitution's Full Faith and Credit
Clause, the heterosexual union from
North Dakota would have to be
recognized in some form in the state
that provided the same-sex marriage
license--whether recognized as a
criminal, bigamous act or as a legal
license that yields tax credits.
The opinion also creates the most
explicit conflict between states on
gay marriage yet. It pits North
Dakota against states like New York,
Massachusetts, and Hawaii that now
have to choose between violating the
Full Faith and Credit Clause, and
upholding a marriage license they
issued or acknowledging North
Dakota's intransigence and violating
the state's standards on gay rights.
The legal opinion's uncanny timing
also pairs it in headlines with the
easing of polygamy laws in Utah, and
provides a stark contrast between
what self-proclaimed polygamists
want from their government and what
the individual wishing to marry
twice in this case does..." Full
text:
North Dakota to Let Man in Same-Sex
Marriage Wed Woman, Too
Ge 2:24, Ex
20:14, Heb 13:4
Homosexuality is: forbidden (Lev.
18:22), considered an abomination (1
Kin. 14:24), punishment for (Lev.
20:13), unclean (Rom. 1:24, 26, 27).
See:
What is the definition of marriage?
Judge Cites Same-Sex Marriage in Declaring Polygamy Ban
Unconstitutional
Judge Strikes Down Utah Traditional Marriage Laws, Calls Them 'Irrational'
Response to comment [from other]: "...[D]o you have an opinion...?"
Yes (Ge 2:24).
NPR Debate on Utah Polygamy Ruling
Shows Case's Far-Reaching Effects
TLC Brings Back 'Progressive'
Polygamist Series
Federal Government Expands
Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage
Utah Polygamists Living Openly After
Law Struck Down
Virginia Judge: Same-Sex Marriage
Ban Unconstitutional
Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee
Introduce State Marriage Defense Act
Transgender Loophole Allows First
Legal Same-Sex Marriage in Texas
British Columbia: baby with three
legal parents at the forefront of
new family
Thousands of same-sex domestic
partners automatically married
Former priest's pedophilia deemed
'disability', gets federal benefits
Acquitting the
guilty and condemning the just--
both are detestable to the Lord (Pr
17:15, HCSB).
See:
Religion and Politics
(right click,
open) by Darrell Ferguson
Federal Judge Rules Kentucky Must
Recognize Gay Marriages
Judge Strikes Down Michigan's Ban on
Same-Sex Marriage
Michigan's first gay marriage
license issued
Holder says feds will recognize
Michigan same-sex marriages despite
governor's decision
OkCupid urges boycott of Mozilla, cites CEO's gay marriage views
