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LadyEllen -> RE: Homosexual’s marriages… (10/17/2006 4:09:20 PM)
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OK - lets throw this little hand grenade into the thread and see what happens.........? Not "homosexual marriage" as such, but it makes things interesting (I hope);
In the UK, we now have the Gender Recognition Act (we are the last country in Europe to have one except Albania or some such place, which says a lot about us).
The Act basically allows transsexual people to change their entire legal identity to that of their adopted sex. It was always possible until the Act to change a lot of documents and change one's name etc, but critically the Act included for the first time, the right to change one's Birth Certificate.
Where this impacts on marriage, is that it was and remains illegal for a male to marry a male (or a female to marry a female) - we have Civil Partnerships for gay and lesbian couples, which are legally alike with Marriages, but are not Marriages. Until the Act, one's sex (male or female) was determined for marriage purposes, by the Birth Certificate. With the changes the Act has brought in though, a person born in the male sex (for instance) but with female gender identity who adopts a female identity, legally becomes female and can marry a male.
Now, where it gets interesting! In order to change the sex on one's Birth Certificate, there are two methods. In the more usual method, the transsexual person will be permitted to change the sex on the certificate, after having had sex reassignment surgery and treatment etc. Fair enough, the reasonable will conclude - the male born person is now female, so there is no reason to forbid her marrying a man and becoming his wife in exactly the same way and to the same extent as any natural female could.
The other method though is more controversial, even for the more reasonable people in the UK - as I have found in limited anecdotal experience at least. The second method allows the Birth Certificate to be changed, without the surgery and treatment, as long as the person can prove that they have lived in the adopted gender for a certain period. Of course, they will have the female gender identity in this case (for instance), but will retain the full physical features of their male birth sex. However, with the Birth Certificate changed - it is quite legal for this person to also marry a man and become his wife in the same way and to the same extent as any natural woman.
I wondered what the reaction to this would be, amongst CM members? Especially the gay men and lesbian women who are forbidden a Marriage proper and forbidden legally to be husband / wife even if they choose to use those titles?
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