Texas May Strip Away Transgender Marriage Rights; Hudspeth County Couple Married Through Loophole
Two Republicans want to bar transgendered people from using proof of their sex change to get a Texas marriage license.
Texas only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman. If the legislation passes, county and district clerks will have to rely on a 1999 appeals court ruling that says a person’s sex is established at birth and cannot be changed.
Last May, a Hudspeth County a couple, Sabrina Hill, who was born with both sex organs, and her girlfriend Therese Bur were able to get married in San Antonio in Bexar County because Hill’s birth certificate said she was a male. Hill’s driver’s license says she is now a woman.
Advocates for the transgendered say the move by Republicans would effectively bar them from marrying and could put currently legal marriages at risk.
Sen. Tommy Williams of Houston says the law should conform to the state Constitution that bars same-sex marriage.
Rep. Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham wrote the 2009 law that allowed the sex-change documentation. She did not immediately respond to messages asking why she wants to change the law.
El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal had asked the Texas attorney general last year for an opinion on whether Hill and Bur could be married in El Paso. The County Attorney’s Office said they still wanted that opinion for future reference.
Frank Montalvo, then a state judge, was the judge who ruled in Bexar County that when it comes to marriage, your gender is determined by your original birth certificate. Montalvo is now a federal judge in El Paso.
Related Link:ABC-7 Special Report: Woman Born A Hermaphrodite Fights For Right To Marry Girlfriend
