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Monday, September 13, 2004

Canadian province approves first same-sex divorce
Tom Henry at 9:23 PM ET

In a ruling Monday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Ruth Mesbur struck down as contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms a section of the Canadian federal Divorce Act that had defined spouse as "either a man or woman who are married to each other", allowing a same-sex lesbian couple married under provincial law to divorce.

Although the Ontario Court of Appeal had legalized same-sex marriages in the province in June 2003, the law controlling divorces had not been tested until now. A lawyer for one of the women believes this may be the first recognized gay or lesbian divorce in the world. The text of the ruling is not yet available online. Canadian Press has more.




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