Shaker Amber sends along a rather depressing story from last week:
A woman lost her firefighter husband in the line of duty not three weeks ago, and the ex-wife is already suing for the estate on the grounds that the grieving widow was born male and thus the two-year marriage was fraudulent. A fair outcome is far from certain thanks to Texas laws.
The Houston Chronicle has the story here (beware of the comments). Gina has her typically insightful analysis, as does Lisa.
I don't have much to add, aside from pointing out how scary and frustrating this sort of situation is. After I came out, I married another woman in Wisconsin (where same-sex marriage is illegal*) and it's always troubling to worry about how our marriage might be invalidated. Honestly, we don't care so much about how the government does the paperwork**, provided that it recognizes our marriage as being as valid as anyone else's.
Marriage (asterisk) isn't the same thing as marriage (period), and until marriage between any two*** people is legal in the United States, no trans person's marriage is safe.
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* No, we're not going to debate the ethics of my marriage today.
** Okay, ultimately I really would prefer not to be listed as the "husband"-- that really burns.
*** Of course, there's also an important debate to be had about the need for the government to value all people in all relationships, not just folks in monogamous ones. That's another thread, too.
[H/T to Shakers Amber, katch001, and Euterpe813]
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