Brewer's attorneys may ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case, said Shannon Minter, legal director of the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights, which assisted Chicago attorney Angelika Keuhn on Brewer's behalf.

"This is completely out of step with other states and the realities of families today," Minter said.

"Families deserve protections and the help of the courts when relationships end, whether the couples were married or not," said Susan Sommer of the gay rights group Lambda Legal. "And when access to marriage was unconstitutionally barred to same-sex families, it is the height of injustice to give legal protections solely to those who married."

Blumenthal's attorney, Reuben Bernick, said the ruling should not be seen as a setback for gay rights. The couple could have gotten married in another state, the Chicago attorney said, and in fact they had obtained a Massachusetts marriage license, but never used it.

As for unmarried couples in Illinois, Bernick said: "If they want to take advantage of the provisions available only in divorce, yes, they should get married. If they don't care about that, then nobody's making them get married."

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