Nicki Araguz Fights On!
Seems like it has been decades since I saw a cross dressed beauty named Justin do battle with a couple of guys she met at a party on the Jerry Springer Show. Wait! It has been decades.
Now according to the Courthouse News Service in Texas:
A transgender woman whose firefighter husband died in the line of duty may have a case for benefits, a Texas appeals court ruled Nikki Paige Araguz, (left) 38, who was born Justin Graham Purdue, sought judicial review in April 2012 of a finding that she is not the proper legal beneficiary of Thomas Araguz III, a Wharton County volunteer firefighter. Araquz was killed while fighting a fire in July 2010 at an egg plant.
Soon after his death, Arguz's mother, Simona Longoria, sued for a declaration that his marriage was void because it was a same-sex marriage, which is illegal in Texas. Araguz's ex-wife, Heather Delgado, later intervened in the case on behalf of her two children, agreeing the marriage was void. A Wharton County judge later voided the marriage on summary judgment but a three-judge panel with the 13th District Court of Appeals reversed Thursday. Ultimately there is "a genuine issue of material fact regarding Nikki's sex and whether the marriage was a same sex marriage," Chief Justice Rogelio Valdez wrote for the court.
Of course the contention is that Nikki's SRS still doesn't legally change her gender to female and as I remember, speculation was this case could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Which would be huge. Let's hope she wins!
Now according to the Courthouse News Service in Texas:
A transgender woman whose firefighter husband died in the line of duty may have a case for benefits, a Texas appeals court ruled Nikki Paige Araguz, (left) 38, who was born Justin Graham Purdue, sought judicial review in April 2012 of a finding that she is not the proper legal beneficiary of Thomas Araguz III, a Wharton County volunteer firefighter. Araquz was killed while fighting a fire in July 2010 at an egg plant.
Soon after his death, Arguz's mother, Simona Longoria, sued for a declaration that his marriage was void because it was a same-sex marriage, which is illegal in Texas. Araguz's ex-wife, Heather Delgado, later intervened in the case on behalf of her two children, agreeing the marriage was void. A Wharton County judge later voided the marriage on summary judgment but a three-judge panel with the 13th District Court of Appeals reversed Thursday. Ultimately there is "a genuine issue of material fact regarding Nikki's sex and whether the marriage was a same sex marriage," Chief Justice Rogelio Valdez wrote for the court.
Of course the contention is that Nikki's SRS still doesn't legally change her gender to female and as I remember, speculation was this case could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Which would be huge. Let's hope she wins!
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