Defining Sex: On Marriage, Family, and Good Public Policy

Abstract:     
This article addresses interstate recognition of families where one of the adults in the marital relatonship is transgendered. While most states have made clear the conditions under which birth certificates can be changed, they are much less clear about how local marriage laws apply when one of the parties is trangendered. Current law in many states simply must be changed, either because it does not take into account the actual lives of the transgendered or because it is indeterminate.

Keywords: marriage, interstate recognition, birth certificates, surgery, self-identification

JEL Classification: J12, J18, K10

Accepted Paper Series