Texas may strip away transgender marriage rights

Link

Quote :

AUSTIN, Texas – 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.

Why does it not surprise me that Texas would be the place people would try this?

Quote :

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.

Medical fail! Some people are assigned one gender at birth and are later found to chromosomally be the other sex. Also, although hermaphroditism is rare in humans, it does happen. What if a person is biologically both sexes?

Quote :

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.

I'm sure the same-sex marriage foes are rubbing their hands with glee at this idea.

Quote :

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.

Why the fuck is it any of Perry's business if transgendered people want to marry?

Quote :

"The Texas Constitution," Sen. Tommy Williams said, "clearly defines marriage between one man and one woman."

So...would this legislation mean that a transman who wanted to marry his boyfriend, or a transwoman who wanted to marry her girlfriend, technically be able to because they were born the opposite sex of their significant other?

Texas: making rational people facepalm since 1836.

Fucking Texas.

Lady Anne wrote:

Quote :

"The Texas Constitution," Sen. Tommy Williams said, "clearly defines marriage between one man and one woman."

So...would this legislation mean that a transman who wanted to marry his boyfriend, or a transwoman who wanted to marry her girlfriend, technically be able to because they were born the opposite sex of their significant other?

I really, really hope someone points this out to them. As gleefully as possible.

So, let me see if I've got this straight: Republicans, which have dominated Texas politics for the last decade or so, somehow didn't see language in a bill passed two years ago and only now are trying to "unring the bell"?

Makes you wonder if they're incompetent or craven hacks.

Spotts1701 wrote:

Makes you wonder if they're incompetent or craven hacks.

The obvious answer: Both.

IIRC, clerks will refuse to issue a license for people who appear to be the same sex.


What this comes down to is that "Them damned trannies cain't marry nobody. [insert evil laughter here]"

Lady Anne wrote:

Also, although hermaphroditism is rare in humans, it does happen. What if a person is biologically both sexes?

IT MAKES YOU HALF GAY EITHER WAY AND YOU'RE GOING TO HELL.

Spotts1701 wrote:

So, let me see if I've got this straight: Republicans, which have dominated Texas politics for the last decade or so, somehow didn't see language in a bill passed two years ago and only now are trying to "unring the bell"?

Makes you wonder if they're incompetent or craven hacks.

Drunk, more likely.

To make matters even worse, Texas is gerrymandered to hell and back, making it impossible to actually vote these douchebags out of office.

Adagio wrote:

Fucking Texas.

Lady Anne wrote:

Quote :

"The Texas Constitution," Sen. Tommy Williams said, "clearly defines marriage between one man and one woman."

So...would this legislation mean that a transman who wanted to marry his boyfriend, or a transwoman who wanted to marry her girlfriend, technically be able to because they were born the opposite sex of their significant other?

I really, really hope someone points this out to them. As gleefully as possible.

What! No! Don't point it out to them! Just let it slip quietly under their noses.

That way, WE WIN

Notanoni wrote:

Spotts1701 wrote:

So, let me see if I've got this straight: Republicans, which have dominated Texas politics for the last decade or so, somehow didn't see language in a bill passed two years ago and only now are trying to "unring the bell"?

Makes you wonder if they're incompetent or craven hacks.

Drunk, more likely.

This. I've been to Texas. There's not much to do but golf, drink, and watch your sports teams suck and fail all over the place (lolStars, lolPoser!Rangers, lolLastros, lolCowgirls, lolRockettes, lolTexans. Coming soon: lolSpurs, lolMavs)

Nilly wrote:

I mean besides the rogue UNM football game. But they are legendary for their ability to suck, and so whenever they play anyone, let alone Texas A&M, they get hosed.

WKU recently lost 26 straight football games. I win.

Or lose. I'm not sure which.

The Texas constitution is well known to be difficult to amend. There's ammendments on the ballot every year and much of the time they're worded in such a way that you're not sure what you're voting for or against.
Perry's a jackass.

Lady Anne wrote:

Medical fail! Some people are assigned one gender at birth and are later found to chromosomally be the other sex. Also, although hermaphroditism is rare in humans, it does happen. What if a person is biologically both sexes?

Did you seriously use the word "hermaphroditism?"
You fucking FAIL.


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Have a good read.

She's trying, though, which I think is pretty cool of her.

Also Nih: if you didn't get the joke, don't mind me, it was kind of a dumb one anyway.

Verandering wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Medical fail! Some people are assigned one gender at birth and are later found to chromosomally be the other sex. Also, although hermaphroditism is rare in humans, it does happen. What if a person is biologically both sexes?

Did you seriously use the word "hermaphroditism?"
You fucking FAIL.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Have a good read.

It's what my gynecologist calls it.

Nihilist wrote:

My cisgendered gay friend gets mistaken for a girl all the time too, so it's not Tranny Exclusive.

What's the etiquette on correcting people? I fucking hate old men who don't get the hint after I've called them 'mate' a million times and still keep on calling me 'love' or 'darling'.

Sutremaine wrote:

Nihilist wrote:

My cisgendered gay friend gets mistaken for a girl all the time too, so it's not Tranny Exclusive.

What's the etiquette on correcting people? I fucking hate old men who don't get the hint after I've called them 'mate' a million times and still keep on calling me 'love' or 'darling'.

I was this close to killing these dbags when I was walking past them one time on the escalator. They were hogging the space and I said to move, and they called me "baby girl" when they acquiesced. I was going to KILL. "I AM NOT YOUR BABY GIRL YOU SEXIST FUCK." Only reason I didn't is because I was in work attire and that would have reflected bad on the work space- so didn't want to hear it from my manager.

Point is, I know that me NOT saying anything and ignoring them changed nothing. You have to make it clear every time. There's a genderqueer in my hiphop class technically named Catherine, but goes by Casey. The first few days during roll call, when the prof called Catherine, she said "Here, but call me Casey." After a while prof got it and all was good. just make it known.

Ah yeah, this is at work and the higher-ups are always pushing the customer service angle. I'm not really sure how forceful I can be.

I remember reading an article about an intersex dog that had found a home. The article referred to the dog as "transsexual".



No wonder so many people get them confused, when even newspapers, which supposedly have editors and fact-checkers, can't get it right.

On the original topic--I fail to understand why so many people think other people's marriages are their business. So what if two people of the same sex want to marry? So what if transsexuals want to marry? Who does it hurt?

I remember, at the time of Prop 8 in California, one of my fellow union members arguing that God will punish America if same-sex marriage is allowed, to which I queried, "Then why hasn't God punished Canada?"

Also, if transgendered marriage rights are stripped away in Texas, would transgendered individuals still be able to marry outside the state of Texas and still have their marriages be valid in Texas, or would Texas not acknowledge any such marriages performed in other states or countries? I know that here in California, same-sex marriages performed during the brief time it was legal here are considered valid, but not same-sex marriages performed in other states or countries.

Lady Anne wrote:

Verandering wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Medical fail! Some people are assigned one gender at birth and are later found to chromosomally be the other sex. Also, although hermaphroditism is rare in humans, it does happen. What if a person is biologically both sexes?

Did you seriously use the word "hermaphroditism?"
You fucking FAIL.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Have a good read.

It's what my gynecologist calls it.

That's because even a lot of the experts haven't caught up with the proper terminology, and because the general public knows what a "hermaphrodite" is but not what "intersex" means, except that they imagine its exactly the same meaning as "transgender" which is wrong.

Your gynecologist is either behind the times or is trying to avoid hassles by using a word they know will be recognized by the general public.

Technically "hermaphrodite" would only be an accurate term if the person could reproduce both as a male and as a female. As far as I've ever read, this ability has been reported in a few intersex people but has never been confirmed, which is one of the reasons why "hermaphrodite" was dropped from the medical terminology. So, as far as humans go, hermaphrodites are mythology or fiction only. Real-life hermaphrodites exist in some animal species, but not in people.

Notanoni wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Verandering wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Medical fail! Some people are assigned one gender at birth and are later found to chromosomally be the other sex. Also, although hermaphroditism is rare in humans, it does happen. What if a person is biologically both sexes?

Did you seriously use the word "hermaphroditism?"
You fucking FAIL.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Have a good read.

It's what my gynecologist calls it.

That's because even a lot of the experts haven't caught up with the proper terminology, and because the general public knows what a "hermaphrodite" is but not what "intersex" means, except that they imagine its exactly the same meaning as "transgender" which is wrong.

Your gynecologist is either behind the times or is trying to avoid hassles by using a word they know will be recognized by the general public.

Technically "hermaphrodite" would only be an accurate term if the person could reproduce both as a male and as a female. As far as I've ever read, this ability has been reported in a few intersex people but has never been confirmed, which is one of the reasons why "hermaphrodite" was dropped from the medical terminology. So, as far as humans go, hermaphrodites are mythology or fiction only. Real-life hermaphrodites exist in some animal species, but not in people.

Thanks for clearing that up. Yes, some species are hermaphroditic, like garden snails. (Take a close look at a pair mating. I dare you.) My gynecologist seems pretty up-to-date on things; he was probably just using a term he thought I would understand (he mentioned hermaphroditism to me after seeing me reading the novel Middlesex).

Verandering wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Medical fail! Some people are assigned one gender at birth and are later found to chromosomally be the other sex. Also, although hermaphroditism is rare in humans, it does happen. What if a person is biologically both sexes?

Did you seriously use the word "hermaphroditism?"
You fucking FAIL.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Have a good read.

Um. I hate to butt in, but really, there was no need to be mean and hateful just then. You could've just said, "Y'know, Anne, that term is kinda dated and technically incorrect. [link]"

Why do people have to be so on-edge anymore? I know this is WGW, but do we really have to have our claws out ALL the time? One would think a polite reminder or correction would be far more effective at changing someone's terminology than going, "LOL, you dumb shitface, it's supposed to be THIS! Fucking moron."


On topic: Not that this surprises me at all, but wow. I would say this makes Tennessee look better by comparison, but... nah, not really. (Don't blame me, I voted straight-ticket Democrat.)

The Alien from Uranus wrote:

Verandering wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Medical fail! Some people are assigned one gender at birth and are later found to chromosomally be the other sex. Also, although hermaphroditism is rare in humans, it does happen. What if a person is biologically both sexes?

Did you seriously use the word "hermaphroditism?"
You fucking FAIL.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Have a good read.

Um. I hate to butt in, but really, there was no need to be mean and hateful just then. You could've just said, "Y'know, Anne, that term is kinda dated and technically incorrect. [link]"

Why do people have to be so on-edge anymore? I know this is WGW, but do we really have to have our claws out ALL the time? One would think a polite reminder or correction would be far more effective at changing someone's terminology than going, "LOL, you dumb shitface, it's supposed to be THIS! Fucking moron."

Yeah, this. Chill out, people. Though I admit I kinda went "whut" when I saw the term being used as well.

Also on-topic: fuck DOMA. Seriously. There should be two forms of marriage in America: a secular marriage that's basically getting married at a courthouse by the justice of the peace and signing a paper, and religious marriages that Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Wiccans, whatever, can have on their own. You want to get married in a church, get married by your own church and say you're both now one flesh in the sight of God and be done with it. You want the civil/legal benefits of a civil marriage in the eyes of the secular government, fill out a piece of paper and get one of those too.

Honestly, what is marriage to people? Is it a commitment? Is it saying "This is my wife" or "This is my husband"? Is it a piece of paper that has your names on it? What? People need to think long and hard about this because heterosexuals have done a great job of cocking it up on their own.

Silly Texas lawmakers. When are you gonna learn that The Onion isn't real?

Malganis wrote:

There should be two forms of marriage in America: a secular marriage that's basically getting married at a courthouse by the justice of the peace and signing a paper, and religious marriages that Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Wiccans, whatever, can have on their own. You want to get married in a church, get married by your own church and say you're both now one flesh in the sight of God and be done with it. You want the civil/legal benefits of a civil marriage in the eyes of the secular government, fill out a piece of paper and get one of those too.

I thought we already did that.

Malganis wrote:

Honestly, what is marriage to people? Is it a commitment? Is it saying "This is my wife" or "This is my husband"? Is it a piece of paper that has your names on it? What? People need to think long and hard about this because heterosexuals have done a great job of cocking it up on their own.

Yeah. But the reasons for marriage vary for different people. Personally, I think if a man and a woman can go and get married just for the political or financial benefits, I should be allowed to have a happy, committed, same-sex marriage with my best friend if I want to, which would allow us to buy a house together and adopt children with both of us listed as legal guardians.