PROVIDENCE, R.I.—A lesbian couple that married in Massachusetts cannot get divorced in their home state of Rhode Island, the state’s highest court ruled Dec. 7.

The court, in a 3-2 decision, said the state’s family court lacks the authority to grant the divorce of a same-sex couple because Rhode Island lawmakers have not defined marriage as anything other than a union between a man and a woman.

Cassandra Ormiston and Margaret Chambers wed in Massachusetts in 2004 after that state became the first to legalize same-sex marriages. The couple filed for divorce last year in Rhode Island, where they both live.

A Massachusetts judge last year decided same-sex couples from Rhode Island could marry there because nothing in Rhode Island law specifically bans gay marriage. But the courts and the legislature in Rhode Island have not taken any action to recognize same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts.