Many people in Greensboro and all over North Carolina are wondering about the outcome of the vote later this year to ban same-sex marriage. While there are strongly held opinions on both sides of the issue, one thing that people might agree on regardless of their stance on the issue is that marriage, whether between same-sex partners or those of the opposite sex, is hard work and is not something that is to be taken lightly.

A reminder of how same-sex couples must deal with the same stresses as married couples comes from California. A couple whose lawsuit had been the basis for the state Supreme Court to toss the ban on same-sex marriage, and who got married shortly thereafter as one of the first same-sex couples to do so in California, filed for divorce last month.

The couple had originally sued the state of California in 2004 to allow same-sex marriage. Because of that, the couple was one of the first to get married when the ban was lifted in 2008. They had known each other for about three decades by the time they finally were able to get married.

However, like so many marriages today, theirs will end in divorce. One member of the couple cautioned people not to read into the divorce as an indictment against same-sex marriage. One member of the couple, Robin Tyler, was quoted in a newspaper article about the split saying that the divorce shouldn't attract attention just because it involves two women. "The reasons aren't sensationalistic any more than any other long-term couple," she said.

While same-sex couples are not currently eligible to get married in North Carolina, they still may want to explore the legal benefits of a domestic partnership. An attorney experienced in family law can explain the options available to them.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, "Couple behind same-sex-marriage lawsuit divorcing," Vivian Ho, Feb. 12, 2012