Surgery no longer a requirement for changing gender on passport
By the CNN Wire Staff
June 9, 2010 10:07 p.m. EDT

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday a new policy that no longer requires passport applicants seeking a gender change to have undergone sexual reassignment surgery.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/09/passports.transgender/index.html

Same sex marriages are not recognized or performed in Illinois.  To obtain a marriage license you must provide certain documentation which will include gender.

REQUIRED IDENTIFICATION:
Identification and proof of age are required of all persons. Any of the following documents will be accepted:

    * A valid U.S. driver's license.
    * A valid U.S. state identification card.
    * A valid U.S. passport.
    * A valid U.S. military identification card.

So, let's say you are in a same sex relationship and want to get married.  According to this new law,

QuoteThe doctor's certification must confirm only that the passport applicant has undergone treatment for gender transition.

Not sure exactly what that means but it leaves a lot of room for interpretation.

Take, for instance, a man who goes on estrogen.  For personal reasons he does nothing else.  His doctor feels he's satisfied the passport requirements and he gets an F on his passport and submits that for his identification to obtain a marriage license.  He then marries his gay lover, legally and recognized by the US government as an opposite sex marriage, and they enjoy all the same rights as everyone else. 

As for taking estrogen for some time, you can always stop and, as long as it hasn't been too long, you'll be back to your old self soon, just a bit more sensitive. 

Of course, all this does is further highlight how stupid some laws are, usually the ones with organized religion backing them.  Let people be who they are, without discriminating against them.

I suspect they'll go by "hrt" and "full time" stuff, kinda like surgery, even might ask for a letter,...