Spouse in Same-Sex Marriage Seeks To Enforce Texas Same-Sex Marriage Ban In Custody Fight

April 24th, 2014

Well you don’t see this everydayAllison Lesh and Leona Lesh were married in Washington D.C. in 2010, and later moved to Texas. The marriage fell apart. In February, Allison Lesh filed for divorce, and sought joint custody of a child Leona Lesh gave birth to, through artificial insemination, in 2013.

So, as a defense, Leona Lesh moves to dismiss the divorce and custody petition, “arguing that the state law and Constitution ban recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages.” She was arguing that her own marriage was not valid, so that a judge could not entertain a divorce, and award custody to Allison. Presumably, as the biological mother, in the absence of a valid marriage, Leona would have sole custody. 

So what happens? A Bexar County District Judge, in a 5 page opinion, finds that Texas’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional! Even though that very case is currently pending before the Texas Supreme Court. Attorney General Abbott moved for an emergency stay with the Court of Appeals, which was granted.

Family law is family law.