Ruling clouds Texas gay marriage ban

DALLAS, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A Texas judge ruled two men married elsewhere can divorce in the Lone Star state and that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution.

State District Judge Tena Callahan's ruling Thursday said the state prohibition of same-sex marriage violates the federal constitutional right to equal protection, The Dallas Morning News reported Friday. Both a voter-approved state constitutional amendment and the Texas Family Code prohibit same-sex marriages or civil unions.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott intervened, arguing a Texas court couldn't dissolve a same-sex marriage since the state doesn't recognize such a union.

Callahan, sitting in Dallas, denied the Abbott's intervention, ruling her court "has jurisdiction to hear a suit for divorce filed by persons legally married in another jurisdiction." The men married in Massachusetts in September 2006, then returned to Dallas.

"This is huge news. We're ecstatic," said Dallas attorney Peter Schulte, representing the man who filed for divorce.

Abbott said he would appeal Callahan's ruling "to defend the traditional definition of marriage that was approved by Texas voters."

Gov. Rick Perry expressed confidence that the ban would stand up to this challenge.

"Texas voters and lawmakers have repeatedly affirmed the view that marriage is defined as between one man and one woman," Perry said in a statement. "I believe the ruling is flawed and should be appealed."