[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/marriage-equality-matters-to-transgendered-too\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/marriage-equality-matters-to-transgendered-too\/","headline":"Marriage Equality Matters to Transgender People Too","name":"Marriage Equality Matters to Transgender People Too","description":"By Jason Carson Wilson Marriage equality matters to transgender people, too, such as Nikki Araguz, who lost her firefighter-husband, Thomas, The Advocate reports. Nikki sought...","datePublished":"2012-01-09","dateModified":"2021-06-25","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Equally Wed","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":787,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nikki-araguz-and-her-late-husband-thomas-transgender-marriage.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nikki-araguz-and-her-late-husband-thomas-transgender-marriage.jpg","height":285,"width":390},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/marriage-equality-matters-to-transgendered-too\/","about":["Marriage Equality News"],"wordCount":192,"articleBody":"By Jason Carson WilsonMarriage equality matters to transgender people, too, such as Nikki Araguz, who lost her firefighter-husband, Thomas, The Advocate reports. Nikki sought to secure a share of his fireman\u2019s benefits, after Thomas died battling a fire.Nikki Araguz and her late husband, ThomasEven though Nikki, who was born biologically male, didn’t undergo gender transition surgery until after the ceremony, she had no reason to think that their marriage wasn’t legal when they wed in Texas in 2008.However, a judge invalidated their marriage. Marriage laws for transgender men and women, who\u2019ve completed their transition, vary from state to state. The ruling that discarded the Araguz\u2019 marriage\u2014seen as rare\u2014is being appealed.“In the vast majority of cases, nobody has any problem,” National Center for Lesbian Rights legal director Shannon Minter said. “Nobody even questions the validity of the marriage. Now there have been a handful of cases in very conservative states that have come out badly.”Minter said courts in certain states \u201chave been so homophobic.\u201d \u201cThey don’t want to even come close to recognizing a same-sex marriage,” she said.Photo: Advocate.com"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Marriage Equality Matters to Transgender People Too","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/marriage-equality-matters-to-transgendered-too\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]