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Tuesday, 26 April
2011 08:56
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Two years after Texas became one of the last states to
allow transgendered people to use proof of their sex change to get a marriage
license, Republican lawmakers are trying to roll back the clock.
Advocates for the transgendered say a proposal to bar transgendered people
from getting married smacks of discrimination and would put their
legally-granted marriages in danger of being nullified if challenged in
court.
One of the Republican sponsors of the legislation said he's simply trying to
clean up the 2009 law in a state that bans same-sex marriage under the
Constitution.
"The Texas Constitution," Sen. Tommy Williams said, "clearly defines marriage
between one man and one woman."
The legislation by Williams, of Houston, and Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, of Brenham,
would prohibit county and district clerks from using a court order recognizing a
sex change as documentation to get married, effectively requiring the state to
recognize a 1999 state appeals court decision that said in cases of marriage,
gender is assigned at birth and sticks with a person throughout their life even
if they have a sex change.
Most states allow transgendered people to get married using a court order
that also allows them to change their driver's license, experts said. Some
advocates for the transgendered say the Texas proposal would not only prevent
future transgendered marriages but also open up the possibility that any current
marriage could be nullified.
``It appears the goal is to try to enshrine a really horrifying ruling and
making it law in the state of Texas,'' said John Nechman, a Houston attorney
whose law firm does work for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered
community.
Gov. Rick Perry's spokesman Mark Miner said the governor never intended to
allow transgendered people to get married. He said the three-word sex change
provision was sneaked through on a larger piece of legislation Perry signed two
years ago regarding marriage licensing rules for county and district clerks.
Perry, a Republican, supports efforts to "clarify the unintended consequences"
of that law, Miner said.
"The governor has always believed and advocated that marriage is between a
man and a woman," Miner said.
Williams said he understands that some people's gender cannot easily be
determined when they are born and they later have an operation that could change
the originally assigned gender.
``It is an emotional issue,'' Williams said. ``I can appreciate that.''
But when asked about claims of discrimination, Williams insisted his goal is
to simplify marriage licensing for clerks who are trying to balance the 2009 law
with the 1999 Texas appeals court ruling.
``They shouldn't have to resolve these issues,'' Williams said. ``We have
confused them.''
Williams' legislation has cleared a committee vote and now awaits approval by
the full Senate, which is predominantly Republican. The version in the
GOP-dominated House has not yet been given a hearing.
Some advocates for the transgendered say that even if the legislation is
passed, transgendered people could still get marriage licenses using other state
and federally-issued documents such as a drivers' license or passport. But
without the weight of a court order officially recognizing their gender
reassignment, they worry any legal challenge, such as a divorce or estate
dispute, would nullify the marriage.
``We want to be recognized as people. We want to have the same rights as all
of you,'' Lisa Scheps of the Transgender Education Network of Texas said at a
March hearing on Williams' bill. No one testified in favor of the
legislation.
Kolkhorst, who authored the 2009 law that allowed the sex change
documentation to be used in getting marriage licenses, did not respond to
messages left at her office seeking comment on why she now wants to take it
out.
The 2009 law originally was filed without the sex change document provision,
but House records show Kolkhorst put it in as part of a lengthy amendment in the
last month of the session. The changed legislation passed the House and Senate
and Perry signed it into law a month later.
``It would be terrible for Texas, now that it finally caught up with the rest
of the country, to take a step back,'' said Shannon Minter, an attorney for the
national Transgender Law and Policy Institute. He said most states allow
marriages for people who have undergone sex reassignment surgery.
Nikki Araguz was at the Capitol last week to lobby against the legislation.
Her husband, a volunteer firefighter, was killed in the line of duty in July
2010 and she is being sued by her dead husband's family over control of his
$600,000 estate.
Araguz had a final sex change operation in October 2008, two months after
they were married, and says her husband knew and supported her. His family
argues the marriage should be voided because Araguz was born a man and same-sex
marriage is not legal in Texas. A hearing is scheduled for May 13.
``This is crazy. I feel like this is a personal attack on me,'' Araguz told
The Associated Press. ``If this bill is passed, it essentially means women like
myself who have had reconstructive surgery will not be allowed to marry their
heterosexual partner.''
Maryland rally condemns McDonald's attack
ROSEDALE, Md. (AP) _ Advocates for transgender rights planned a rally outside
a McDonald's in Baltimore County where an attack caught on video took place.
The rally condemning the attack took place at 7 p.m. Monday outside the
restaurant in Rosedale.
The video posted online shows a woman being attacked and apparently having a
seizure. Baltimore County police say a 14-year-old girl has been charged as a
juvenile and an 18-year-old woman, Teonna Monae Brown, faces an assault charge
in the case.
The victim, 22-year-old Chrissy Lee Polis, a transgender woman, says she is
the victim of a hate crime. Polis says before she was attacked, one teen said
Polis was a man using the women's restroom and accused Polis of talking to her
man.
#1
Glad to hear the two girls are
being charged, but what about the manager and the boys who were filming and
laughing, and anyone else who stood there and did nothing. I would like to hear
about some more charges and some firings.
being charged, but what about the manager and the boys who were filming and
laughing, and anyone else who stood there and did nothing. I would like to hear
about some more charges and some firings.
Comments #1 Nicole H
backwards, redneck, religious wacko, intolerant, and bigoted state.
How does
denying marriage rights to people benefit society?
Quote