STATEMENT FROM THE 2ND TEXAS TRANSGENDER NONDISCRIMINATION SUMMIT ON THE ARAGUZ

[Shana A]

STATEMENT FROM THE 2ND TEXAS TRANSGENDER NONDISCRIMINATION SUMMIT ON THE ARAGUZ CASE

http://www.outinhouston.com/home/news.asp?articleid=34349

HOUSTON, Texas (July 22, 2010) - We, the attendees of the Second Annual Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit, issue this statement to demonstrate our support for Mrs. Nikki Araguz and to call attention to her plight and that of all transgender people in the state of Texas.

Mrs. Nikki Araguz legally married a man, and her marriage has been recognized under the laws of the state of Texas. Nikki's husband, a fireman in Wharton County, tragically was killed in the line of duty, and now other parties are attempting to use the courts to have her marriage legally overturned in an effort to deny her inheritance and insurance.

These parties are claiming that Nikki is not legally a woman under Texas law. Nikki's opponents are attempting to use an obscure Texas case, Littleton v. Prange (1999), to declare that her marriage should be invalid. The Littleton case says that a person's gender is determined by chromosomes, not physical attributes. The Littleton case was decided to deny a transgender woman her right to bring a wrongful death suit on behalf of her husband - even though Littleton had legally changed her gender and had been legally married in Texas.

[FairyGirl]

the Littleton case was also the one that made it near impossible to get your birth certificate gender marker changed in Texas. Since I was born in Dallas, I've decided to not even try it at this time because at the very least it would require hiring a lawyer and I haven't the time, money, or inclination. I'm moving to Australia anyway and a U.S. passport with an "F" on it is good enough for me. I could even legally marry a woman in TX if I used my current birth certificate for ID, but if I used my passport then I couldn't. It's a total double standard but then that's Texas.