ISSUES: Texas Tries to Put Brakes on Gay Divorce

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott isn't just fighting gay marriage—he's fighting gay divorce, too. He's appealing a court decision to grant a divorce to a couple of lesbians in Austin, and another splitting up a pair of gay men in Dallas. His logic: defending the “traditional definition of marriage” means defending the traditional definition of divorce, too, reports the AP.

Abbott argues that since gay marriage isn't legal in the state, he can't divorce the couples, who married in Massachusetts. He recommends they void the marriage instead. But that wouldn't dissolve the marriage in other states, and would complicate the division of property. The couples are, needless to say, pretty annoyed. “We didn't ask for marriage; we simply asked for the courtesy of divorce,” says one of the lesbians.