Brain Drippings

In a recent Op-Ed piece in The New York Times, Jennifer Finney Boylan wrote about the sloppy state of marriage in the US, especially in the case of transgender people. She points out that there have been ‘same sex’ marriages in all 50 states for years, since when one person undergoes gender reassignment their marriages do not suddenly become invalid. So, if John and Mary are married and John becomes Joan, Joan and Mary are married. However, in many states, if Joan and Mary divorce (or Mary dies), Joan can then only marry a man. In other states, Joan can only marry a woman. Makes sense?

Not really.

She quotes a lawyer with a summary of the current insanity:

A lawyer […] noted the absurdity of the country’s gender laws as they pertain to marriage: “Taking this situation to its logical conclusion, Mrs. Littleton, while in San Antonio, Tex., is a male and has a void marriage; as she travels to Houston, Tex., and enters federal property, she is female and a widow; upon traveling to Kentucky she is female and a widow; but, upon entering Ohio, she is once again male and prohibited from marriage; entering Connecticut, she is again female and may marry; if her travel takes her north to Vermont, she is male and may marry a female; if instead she travels south to New Jersey, she may marry a male.”