You asked (1) whether a justice of the peace (JP) can marry a person who has undergone a sex change procedure to a person of the opposite sex or whether the couple is limited to entering a civil union and (2) how a person who has undergone such a procedure can amend his or her driver's license and social security card to reflect their new sexual identity. With regard to the first question, the Office of Legislative Research is not authorized to provide legal opinions, and this report should not be considered one.

Under Connecticut law, marriage is defined as the union of one man and one woman (CGS § 46b-38nn). Lesbian or gay couples can enter into civil unions, which confer all of the rights and responsibilities of marriage.

The statutes do not specifically address whether a JP or other official authorized to perform weddings can marry a transgendered person (one who has undergone a sex change procedure) to a person of the opposite sex, and we have found no relevant case law in Connecticut. The only case we found was a custody dispute that involved a transgendered person. The person was married in Connecticut four years after undergoing a sex change operation. In a December 2005 publication,

Transgender Legal Issues in New England, the advocacy organization Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) states that no cases dealing with the ability of transgendered people to marry had been reported in New England. GLAD notes that:

Practically speaking, unless the marriage of a post-operative transgender person to a person of the opposite sex is challenged (by a party seeking annulment, for example, or by a third party challenging a spouse's right to the deceased's estate through laws of automatic inheritance) it is unlikely that the validity of the marriage will ever be an issue.

One issue raised by your first question is whether the transgendered person can document that he or she is of the opposite sex of his or her partner. One way he or she may be able to do this is by presenting documentation of his or her current sex, such as a birth certificate, driver's license, or social security card. CGS § 19b-42 allows the Public Health commissioner to amend the Connecticut birth certificate of person who has undergone a sex change operation. CGS § 19a-42b allows a Connecticut resident who was born in another state or country and who has completed gender change treatment to apply for a decree from the probate court in the district where he or she now lives. The application must be accompanied by an affidavit from a physician stating that the person has physically changed gender and one from a psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker stating that the applicant has socially and psychologically changed gender. Once issued, the decree must be transmitted to the birth certificate registration authority where the person was born.

In order to change the sex listed on a driver's license, the Department of Motor Vehicles requires a letter from a health care provider attesting to the fact that the person is undergoing a sex change procedure and is living full-time according to the medical protocols for sexual reassignment. This policy has been in effect since 1993.

Since 2002, the Social Security Administration has required that, to change the sex listed on a social security card, a person provide a letter from the surgeon or attending physician showing the sex change surgery has been completed. All documents must clearly identify the individual. Social Security Administration Program Operations Manual System, RM 00203. 215. Prior policy simply required that the documents show that the surgery had either been completed or started.

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