The rise and (not so) fall of same-sex marriage

It's still way too soon to start making proclamations of the success or failure of same-sex marriages here (some have tried), but in jolly old England, where same-sex civil partnerships have been legal since December of 2005 (remember Elton John's lavish ceremony?) a new study has some results...

Less than 1% of civil partnerships end in 'divorce'
Between December 2005, when gay and lesbian couples gained the legal right to formalise their relationships, and December 2007, there were 24,629 civil partnerships in England and Wales. Couples have to wait at least a year before they can apply for a dissolution of their partnership.
Her Majesty's Court Service told PinkNews.co.uk that between December 2006 to 28th July 2008, there have been just 245 petitions for a dissolution.
Of those, 108 have been granted a final dissolution, one partnership has been declared null and three have had separation orders issued.
The figures may include same-sex unions, marriages or partnerships entered into overseas and dissolved by the courts in England and Wales. [PinkNews]

Meanwhile, stateside, a lesbian couple in Fresno, one of the first married when it became legal in the State of California in June of 2008, has become the first to file for divorce. "They married on June 27, 2008. Then three days later on June 30, 2008, the document indicates they separated. The couple declined to be interviewed citing privacy issues but they checked "irreconcilable differences" on their application. " [ABC30]

A lawyer for the news station comments, "while a same-sex divorce in Fresno County is unprecedented, legally it is not significant. Capozzi said, "The fact that it is a same-sex marriage and now a divorce is of no consequence to the court. They're going to be treated as equally as anyone who comes before that court."