- Littleton v. Prange
-
Littleton v. Prange is a 1999 lawsuit that annulled some transsexual marriages in Texas.[1]
Contents
Background
Christie Lee Littleton was born a male in San Antonio, Texas in 1952. She dropped out of school at age 15 and began living as a woman. In 1977 she began taking female hormones and legally changed her name to Christie Lee Cavazos. In 1980, she completed her surgical reassignment and had her state-issued identification changed to female.[2] In the 1990s she met and married Jonathan Mark Littleton in Kentucky, later moving to San Antonio, where she worked at a salon and he worked as a window washer.
Case
After her husband's death, Christie Lee Littleton brought a medical malpractice suit against her husband's doctor, Mark Prange.[3] The defense attorney argued that the marriage was invalid because Christie Lee Littleton was a biological male. On appeal, Chief Justice Phil Hardberger relied on the fact that "Texas statutes do not allow same-sex marriages" and that "male chromosomes do not change with either hormonal treatment or sex reassignment surgery" in handing down his judgment that "Christie Littleton is a male. As a male, Christie cannot be married to another male. Her marriage to Jonathon was invalid, and she cannot bring a cause of action as his surviving spouse."[4]
The decision made it legal for a woman to marry a man who had undergone sex reassignment surgery and become female.[5][6]
See also
- LGBT rights in Texas
References
- ^ Littleton v. Prange, No. 99-1214 (Tex. 18 May 2000)
- ^ Celia Kitzinger & Sue Wilkinson (2006). Genders, sexualities and equal marriage rights. Lesbian and Gay Psychology Review
- ^ Dahir, Mubarak (October 10, 2000). Genetics vs. love. The Advocate
- ^ Littleton v. Prange, 9 SW3d 223
- ^ Pesquera, Adolfo (September 7, 2000). Lesbian couple get license to wed Transsexual ruling clears the way. San Antonio Express-News
- ^ http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/abbott-declines-transgender-marriage-question-852534.html
External links
- Opinion by Chief Justice Phil Hardberger, Concurring Opinion by Justice Karen Angelini, Dissenting Opinion by Justice Alma López at the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals website
- Court opinion at Google Scholar
- Story of Christie Lee Littleton, personal website
Categories:- United States LGBT rights case law
- LGBT in Texas
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
