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"  Shrie and Kirsten Richmond were happily \u2014 and legally \u2014 married in Iowa in 2012. But like about 50 percent of married couples in the U.S., things didn&amp;#039;t work out. They are separated and have amicably decided to divorce. Except the courts won&amp;#039;t let them. Now living in their home state of Alabama, the couple has been prohibited from getting a divorce because the state does not recognize gay marriage and therefore will not issue a divorce to a couple they view to be illegitimate in the first place. The Alabama natives moved home to live near family. Now that their relationship is over, they are faced with staying married or moving back to Iowa, where state law requires couples seeking a divorce to live in the state for at least a year prior to the dissolution of the marriage. The couple never expected to be standing in court. Shrie initially filed the divorce petition electronically, according to her lawyer, Patrick Hill. But even the Alabama computer system wouldn&amp;#039;t recognize the union. &amp;quot;It accepted all the information, but there is a box on it you have to check that designates whether the party is male or female\u2026 It said the plaintiff and defendant could not be the same gender.&amp;quot; The experience has been as confusing for the couple as it has been emotional. &amp;quot;When [Shrie] first came to me, to ask what options were, she had no idea,&amp;quot; Hill said. &amp;quot;She didn&amp;#039;t know she could not just go down to the courthouse and file for a divorce.&amp;quot; Granting a divorce between a gay couple would validate that the marriage was legal and valid \u2014 something laws like Alabama&amp;#039;s make it clear is not recognized or even possible \u2014 in their state. The fear among &amp;quot;traditional marriage&amp;quot; crusaders is that it&amp;#039;s one step closer to legitimizing marriage between same sex partners. Hill sees the ruling as a chance to make progress. &amp;quot;It allows us to begin the process of attempting to change the law,&amp;quot; Hill said. RELATED:  This Prison in Alabama Is Hell on Earth for Women Alabama Republicans Approve Some of Their Toughest Abortion Restrictions in the Country Follow Heather on Twitter. Photo credit: Getty Images "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/news/a21998/lesbian-couple-divorce-alabama/>