US: Florida same-sex couple denied divorce

An appeals court in Miami has denied a same-sex couple the right to divorce.

In the case which did not challenge the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, Sarah Oliver and Heather Stufflebeam were denied their divorce petition.

The 3rd District Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled that a lower court’s decision to deny the divorce to the couple, who married in Iowa, was correct.

The court noted that Florida does not currently recognise the marriage.

The first ever same-sex divorce was granted by the same judge who recently declared the state’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, Circuit Judge Dale Cohen last week.

Same-sex marriages are expected to start in Florida on 5 January, however it is unclear how many states will actually issue marriage licences before further legal challenges.