Consider this issue: Once a transgender person gets sexual reassignment surgery to complete their transition to their identified gender, they are recognized as being that new gender under current Texas law (like most states) including in areas like their driving record and marriage licenses.
Since only a man and woman can marry in Texas, then, a person born as a male who becomes a woman is then able to marry a man. However, Republican Senator Tommy Williams is allegedly concerned about the confusion he thinks county and district clerks have in following the court orders. And even worse, as one article states, apparently Governor Perry never intended for transgendered people to marry! Not allowing them to marry at all would certain strip away their recognition as human beings -- as even gay people can marry someone of the opposite gender if they choose. Williams' intent is apparently not to prohibit any transgender marriages but to "clean up" a 2009 law in which sex change operations are recognized to revert to a 1999 state appeals court decision that said that in cases of marriage, gender is assigned at birth and sticks with a person throughout their life even if they have a sex change.
What Tommy and his cohorts may not realize is that their proposed "clean up" and reversal has the potential to cause even more confusion. If a person born as a male who then becomes a woman is only recognized as a male for marriage purposes, then that visibly female person can only legally marry a woman. So now you essentially have what appears to be a "same-gender" marriage, which seems to violate Texas' strict prohibition on same-gender marriages. While this may allow marriage in some cases, this law would undermine what I know is even more important to transgender people - being recognized by their gender identity. In short, this change does not serve to clear anything up - it only hurts another misunderstood minority group while benefitting no one.
And now consider this box-checking dilemma: A lesbian couple which includes NCLR's Kate Kendall gets legally married in California in the small window of time in 2008 in which it is legal.
States typically decide who is and is not married, not the Federal government. They then go to file their Federal tax return and need to check the box "married" or "single." What should they do? They are, in fact, married. However, the Federal government, through the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), does not recognize their legal marriage. Nevertheless, the couple feels compelled to tell the truth -- and, get this -- pay MORE taxes to the Federal government than they would as "single." What should the IRS do - audit them for breaking DOMA and insist on giving them back all the extra money they paid, or keep the extra money and applaud their honesty and integrity? The verdict? People are much larger than the little boxes (and rules) society creates for genders and marital status. And in trying to force-fit people into little boxes and rules rather than simply accommodating who they are and how they want to be recognized, people engender much more confusion.
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