A state appeals court in Dallas has rejected a lower court's decision that two gay men who married in Massachusetts had the right to divorce in Texas.

In October, state District Judge Tena Callahan ruled that the men could legally end their marriage and that the state's prohibition against same-sex marriage violated the federal constitutional right to equal protection.

On Tuesday, the 5th District Court of Appeals in Dallas reversed that decision and instructed Callahan to dismiss the case.

Same-sex marriages or civil unions are prohibited by a voter-approved amendment to the state Constitution and the Texas Family Code.

The three-judge panel said Tuesday that the trial court had wrongly ruled that those provisions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Additionally, Justice Kerry P. Fitzgerald wrote in the decision: "We hold that Texas district courts do not have subject-matter jurisdiction to hear a same-sex divorce case."

The two men, identified in court records as J.B. and H.B., married in Cambridge, Mass., in 2006, later returned to Dallas and separated two years later. J.B., citing "discord or conflict of personalities," sued in January 2008 to dissolve the union.

The Dallas County resident could obtain a divorce in Massachusetts after regaining legal residency there. He could also appeal the case to the Texas Supreme Court.

"We are disappointed with the justices' decision," said Dallas attorney Peter Schulte, who represented J.B. in the divorce filing, "but we respect the court and process and are evaluating our options about moving forward."

Schulte said his client did not want to speak publicly about the decision. In an interview last year, J.B. said the marriage "was not entered into lightly" and the breakup was painful. But "I believe all people should have the same rights to do what they want with their private lives."

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott intervened in the divorce case, arguing that because Texas doesn't recognize gay marriage, a Texas court can't dissolve one through divorce.

But Callahan, a Democrat, rejected the attorney general's intervention and said her court had jurisdiction to consider a divorce case "filed by persons legally married in another jurisdiction."

Abbott said he would appeal that ruling "to defend the traditional definition of marriage that was approved by Texas voters."

In arguments before the three judges, all Republicans, attorneys for the state and the conservative Plano-based Liberty Institute repeated the claim that to recognize same-sex divorce, Texas would have to recognize same-sex marriage.

In a statement Tuesday, Abbott applauded the ruling:

"Because the Constitution and laws of the state of Texas define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, the court correctly ruled that Texas courts do not have authority to grant a same-sex divorce."

But Jody Scheske, an Austin attorney who argued J.B.'s appeal, continues to disagree.

"Eventually all married couples in the state of Texas will have equal access to divorce," he said Tuesday. "Unfortunately this decision denies that to one segment of society, same-sex couples.

"We think the holding is not constitutional as we argued to the court, and we look forward to further appeal."