Comment: How Scotland's same-sex marriage bill can be improved for trans and intersex people
Nale Gale, August 9, 2013, 6:51pm
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/08/09/comment-how-scotlands-same-sex-marriage-bill-can-be-improved-for-trans-and-intersex-people/Writing for PinkNews.co.uk, Scottish Transgender Alliance Development Officer Nathan Gale explains how Scotland's same-sex marriage bill does not achieve equality for transgender and intersex people.Many trans people and their allies are extremely disappointed and concerned that the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 for England and Wales has not adequately delivered marriage equality for trans and intersex people.
Not surprisingly, at the Scottish Transgender Alliance... lots of people have been asking us how the campaign is going to ensure that trans and intersex people aren't left behind during the passage of the Scottish bill...
Spousal VetoOne of the most contentious parts of the bill is the inclusion of the so called "spousal veto". This provision will require a trans person to get their spouse's consent to remaining married to them before they can have their gender legally recognised. It is intended to protect the spouses of trans people from finding themselves in legally same-sex marriages...
At first glance this may seem fairly reasonable. But trans people must have been living as the gender they identify as for at least two years before applying for gender recognition and so their marriage has been in effect a same-sex marriage for that time already. And their partner has had at least two years to divorce them if they are unhappy about staying in the marriage...
