Hearing set for samesex marriage case
Constitutionality of union to be weighed
A DeSoto County judge Tuesday set a Dec. 2 court date to hear arguments on the constitutionality of the same-sex marriage of two women now seeking a divorce in Mississippi.
Chancellor Mitchell Lundy Jr. issued the date during an initial appearance by Lauren Czekala-Chatham of Hernando, who filed for divorce from Dana Ann Melancon of Osceola, Ark.
Czekala-Chatham, who married Melancon in San Francisco in 2008, says she isn’t trying to push Mississippi to allow same-sex marriages, but she wants her valid marriage in another state recognized so a divorce can be granted.
J. Wesley Hisaw, Czekala-Chatham’s Horn Lake attorney, said after Tuesday’s hearing that most property issues between the couple have been resolved outside of divorce proceedings, but that the bigger hurdle is get- ting the state to recognize the union before a legal divorce can be granted. He said the office of Mississippi Atty. Gen. Jim Hood would have to become involved.
Legal experts have said the case, believed to be the first of its kind in Mississippi, is uncharted legal territory but that it’s unlikely Mississippi is ready to accept the validity of a same-sex marriage. Hisaw contends the U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year overturning provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act compels the state to do so.
G. Chadwick Reeves, a Memphis attorney representing Melancon, said his client would be open to proceeding with attempts to obtain a divorce in Mississippi if a settlement can be reached on all property issues. Otherwise, he said he would push for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that Mississippi law doesn’t recognize the marriage.
Melancon, who Reeves said is trying to maintain a low profile, was not present Tuesday.
Another option, Reeves said, is for the couple to return to California for a divorce. He said state law there was amended “to address this exact situation.”
But Czekala- Chatham, who says a legal divorce is needed because of tax implications and other issues arising from the DOMA decision, said she wants a divorce in Mississippi since that’s where she has lived for years.
Czekala-Chatham moved to DeSoto County in the 1990s with her husband at the time, who got a job at a Tunica casino. She has two sons, ages 15 and 18, from that marriage, and they accompanied her to court Tuesday.
“I don’t want to be treated like a secondclass citizen,” CzekalaChatham said of going to California. “This is where I live, and I want the divorce in Mississippi.”