Gender Bending Wedding

By Carol Costello

NCTE's Mara Keisling, Norfolk's marriage commissioner, and others comment on possible charges against a couple, one of whom may have been transgender, who married in Virginia.

Tuesday 06.24.08

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Meanwhile other news that we’re following, Virginia officials now know there was much more to one reason wedding in the state than met the eye. It turns out the bride was no woman and the marriage itself may be a crime.

Carol Costello’s working this story for us.

What is it all about?

COSTELLO: Kind of a strange story. But, Wolf, Virginia authorities are trying to figure out whether to charge two men with a misdemeanor for getting married in Norfolk. It’s something they’ve struggled with before.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: We’ve come a long way, baby. Marriage isn’t as simple as it once was. In California and Massachusetts, men marry men and women wed women. And if you tuned into “Oprah” recently, men who are once women are married and pregnant, scenarios leading to some confusing times in 48 states without same-sex marriage laws. Virginia is wrestling with a case of that now. Same-sex marriage violates Virginia’s constitution, yet two men managed to get married in Norfolk. This woman told our affiliate, one of them was her brother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Apparently he was dressed like a woman. Tell me about that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have nothing to say on that.

COSTELLO: This isn’t the first time Virginia has wrestled with this problem. Norfolk’s marriage commissioner, Reid Carawan.

REID CARAWAN, NORFOLK MARRIAGE COMMISSIONER: He looked like a female. Got a license. Then when the guy came back, found out he was a female.

COSTELLO: In the latest case, the bride, 18-year-old Justin McCain, dressed as a woman, then called himself Justine. It wasn’t until he returned to court to legally change his name to something more feminine, that officials caught on. Now, Virginia authorities may press charges.

MARA KEISLING, NATIONAL CENTER TRANSGENDER EQUALITY: That’s ridiculous, mean-spirited, and frankly if I were a resident of that county, I think I’d be embarrassed. Hopefully the prosecutor has much more important things to do than to pick on some poor 18-year-old who just wanted to get married.

COSTELLO: It’s unclear if McCain is in the process of becoming a woman. He’s in hiding. But Rex Davis, the clerk of Newport News Circuit Court told our affiliate, “I have spoken with him and told him same-sex marriages are not legal in Virginia. He told me he thought they were. I told him to bring me the marriage certificate and that would be a favorable step in

the situation. He has yet to return it.”

Virginia has taken steps to make sure there are no future misunderstandings and instead of couples listing their names beside bride and groom on the marriage applications, they now will list their names beside female applicant and male applicant.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And in case you’re wondering, generally there are no laws specifically aimed at people who undergo a sex change. But most transgendered people go to court to legally change their sex on their birth certificate and their driver’s licenses. And had Justin McCain done that, he likely would have had no problem.

VIDEO HERE