ANNAPOLIS, Md., April 10 (UPI) -- Maryland's highest court is to decide whether two women who married in California can divorce in Maryland where same-sex marriage is illegal.
The Court of Appeals will weigh whether a Prince George's County judge was right in ruling that because same-sex is not legal in Maryland, neither is same-sex divorce, The Washington Post reported.
Jessica Port and Virginia Anne Cowan met at a meeting for gay and lesbian students and their allies at Montgomery College in Rockville, Md. When California legalized same-sex marriage in 2008, they went to San Francisco and married at a courthouse.
But in the summer of 2010, they decided to divorce.
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Prince George's County Circuit Judge Michael Chapdelaine ruled their divorce would not be granted.
"I was pretty surprised and kind of panicked about the idea of being legally tied to this person for the rest of my life," Port said.
She said she has met another woman and wears a ring to show her commitment.
Same-sex couples often have different rights in different states and may not have the same status in the eyes of the federal government as in their home states, the Post said.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley signed legislation in March to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland but the law isn't scheduled to take effect until Jan. 1, 2013, and there's a ballot referendum to repeal the law.
Cowan lives in the District of Columbia where same-sex is now legal and could file for divorce there.
Port said the case goes beyond the two women.
"It started off as, 'The two of us want to get divorced and we have a right to get divorced,'" Port said. "And then it became, 'Well, if we have a right to get divorced, then everybody has a right to get divorced.'"
