Same-Sex or Trans-Gendered Weddings in VA

[OneFinger]

Came across an interesting article about a couple that was wed in Virgina. Apparently the gov't "assumed" it was a heterosexual couple. Now, they are not sure if it was a same-sex or trans-gendered couple.

 

According to the AP:

 

The couple walked into a Norfolk courthouse on a spring day, exchanged a few words, and within 10 minutes, were seemingly husband and wife. It was an unremarkable ceremony — except that several weeks later, officials realized the shapely bride might not have been a woman.

 

Now authorities in Virginia, where same-sex marriages are illegal, are weighing whether to file misdemeanor charges against the couple. An announcement is expected this week...

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/06/23/national/a111234D55.DTL

 

The article goes on to raise a very interesting point about sexual identify. Apparently, in most states, it is entirely possible to have a birth certificate with your gender birth and a driver's license or passport in your surgical gender. To further complicate matters, your medical records could reflect you as your birth gender, your surgical gender, or both.

 

Lots of interesting issues.

[Guest zipperzone]

If you were a guy who had surgery to transform you into a woman, would it still be considered as same sex marriage if you then wanted to marry your male partner?

[pegasian]

>If you were a guy who had surgery to transform you into a

>woman, would it still be considered as same sex marriage if

>you then wanted to marry your male partner?

 

 

The LAWS/RULES vary depending which state you are in.

[OneFinger]

>The LAWS/RULES vary depending which state you are in.

 

From what I understand, you are totally correct. According to the article link I posted above:

 

[ol]If the bride was transgender, and identified as a woman, it is unclear whether the marriage would be considered illegal... Most state courts have been silent on the issue of whether marriages involving a transgender person are valid, transgender rights advocates say. Most case law involving transgender rights, meanwhile, surrounds discrimination, not marriage.[/ol]

In addition, courts are split on whether a surgical reassignment is legally acknowledged.

 

[ol]In 1999, a Texas court threw out a wrongful death lawsuit a transgender woman filed after the death of her husband, ruling that while the plaintiff had undergone a sex-change operation, she was actually a man and her marriage invalid. But in 2004, a Kansas court ruled in favor of a male-to-female transsexual who identified as a woman to apply for marriage.[/ol]

 

Prior to reading this article I "assume" a sexual reassignment would be recognized by all states. It surprised me to find out Tennessee, Ohio and Idaho do NOT change the gender on your birth certificate after a sex change. IMHO, that's just plain wrong!!