Two state legislators from Texas, which only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman, are seeking to overturn a 2009 law that allows people to provide proof of their sex reassignment surgery in order to obtain a marriage license. One of the legislators, Sen. Tommy Williams of Houston, argues the law should conform with the state Constitution barring same-sex marriage.
Prior to the law's passage, county and district clerks had to rely on a 1999 appeals court ruling that states a person's sex is determined at birth and cannot be changed.
The issue arose in 2010 after a Hudspeth couple, Sabrina Hill and Therese Bur, sought a marriage license in El Paso County, causing the county's attorney, Jo Anne Bernal, to ask the Texas attorney general for clarification. Hill was born with both male and female organs and is listed as a male on her birth certificate and a woman on her driver's license. Eventually, they were married in San Antonio.
If the 2009 law is overturned, county and district clerks will have to rely on the 1999 appeals court ruling. Furthermore, the marriage of Hill and Bur may be invalidated by a change in the law.
Contact a Charlotte lawyer with the Law Offices of David P. Sheehan if you're in a legal quagmire over the legitimacy of your marriage.
