more thoughts on Prop 8

One of the ideas that make the argument against same sex marriage seem logical is the myth of duality we enjoy. We like to think that things are either/or. It is appealing to our imagination that people come in two types, male and female. The medical facts are somewhat more complex. One variation is AIS. A condition of cell metabolism that makes it impossible for a boy to use the testosterone his body makes. He then converts that hormone to estrogen that works along with the naturally occurring estrogen in his body to grow a person that is to all appearances female. The only way to tell is by surgery, although the AIS adult is infertile. And as one patient states, “every time the box is on a form, I check Female.”
Another variation is the person with both sets of organs, called an hermaphrodite. The best selling book Middlesex told one intersex persons’ story of trying to fit into a world that didn’t recognize his gender. There are many other variations. My point is the fantasy that marriage can only be between a man and a woman has never been true. A transsexual, someone having their gender reassigned medically by hormone treatment and surgery is legally considered the gender they label themselves with. And the law requires they be addressed and treated as such in the work place.
There are about 7500 women in the US that are genetically men with AIS, there are thousands more that are women by assignment. They are able to marry without any legal restrictions. Why in the world would we make it illegal for two men, or two women who want to marry?