Marriage Between Same Sex Couples And Transgenderism

[black_cat51]

hi, i have a transgender friend (born as male) who is engaged to a girl. My friends intention is to apply for a GRC at some point. If my friend were to marry before the GRC, but afterwards wanted to remain married to the same person, is that permissible in law? Or would they have to divorve and re-marry? would the position have been the same before marriage between same sex couples was legal?

[jim360]

It seems as if prior to the 2013 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) act then Yes, they would have to divorce, obtain the GRC and then re-marry (or more precisely obtain a Civil Partnership) according to the 2004 Gender Recognition Act. At the time this was intended to stop a form of same-sex marriage "through the back door". I'm no legal expert but it appears that Schedule 5 of the 2013 M(SSC) Act has updated the 2004 GR Act to allow for a GRC to be obtained within a marriage if "the applicant’s spouse consents to the marriage continuing after the issue of a full gender recognition certificate" (Schedule 5, Part I 3.2(b), M(SSC) 2013).

So assuming his fiancée is content with the marriage continuing then it should now be OK, and good luck to them both.

[black_cat51]

thanks, very clear!

[jim360]

You're welcome -- the relevant section references a "protected marriage" and I don't know what that is, so I'd advise them to do further research before taking either action, just in case there's something I've missed.