Liberty Counsel Takes on Transgender Case

July 22, 2003

Mathew D. Staver

ORLANDO, FLORIDA- Liberty Counsel has agreed to represent Linda Kantaras in her appeal of an 809 page ruling issued by Judge O'Brien in Pasco County, Florida. Finding that gender is primarily a state of mind, the judge ruled that Michael Kantaras (formerly known as Margo) desires to be a man even though she was born a woman, and therefore, the "marriage" between Michael and Linda did not violate Florida's Defense of Marriage Act, which limits marriage to only one man and one woman. Linda Kantaras is represented on this appeal by Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel.

Margo Kantaras was born in the state of Ohio as a female. Desiring to become a "male", Margo sought to change her name to "Michael" and then move to Texas where she underwent hormone and surgical treatment at the Rosenburg Clinic. The surgery involved a radical mastectomy and a total hysterectomy. Typically, female-to-male sex surgeries involve removal of the breasts, uterus, and ovaries but do not include phalloplasty, which is the addition of male genitalia. Thus, Michael continues to have a functioning female vagina. Michael unsuccessfully attempted to change his Ohio birth certificate from "female" to "male", but an Ohio judge blocked this attempt.

Linda and Michael met in Florida. At the time, Linda knew of Michael's sex operation. Michael obtained a marriage license in Seminole County, Florida, representing to the clerk that she was a "male." The two then married, after which Michael adopted Linda's biological son. Linda was later artificially inseminated with the sperm of Michael's brother.

During the "marriage", Linda became a Christian and realized that her relationship to Michael was improper. Michael filed for divorce seeking custody of the children. In the divorce court, the proceeding was defended on the basis that the "marriage" was invalid since it involved two people of the same sex, and for the same reason, the adoption was also invalid. Judge O'Brien ruled that gender is primarily psychological and thus Michael should be considered a "male", and therefore the union between Michael and Linda did not violate the Florida marriage or adoption law. In his ruling he stated, "Some jurisdictions prefer to remain in the 19th Century understanding of binary sex, that saw male and female as distinct, immutable and opposite." He further stated that, "Marriage is fundamentally a state of mind." Finding that it was "unethical" to change Michael's mind to match the body, he stated that it was proper for Michael to mutilate his body to match his mind. Instead, he found that Linda's Christian beliefs were problematic because she refused to accept transgenderism, and these beliefs could drive a wedge between the children and Michael. Despite the unanimous testimony that the children want to live with Linda, Judge O'Brien removed primary custody from Linda to Michael.

Staver said, "To accept the notion that gender is primarily psychological will create chaos and uncertainty within the law. Just as a Caucasian cannot think she is African-American, so a male cannot think he is a female." "We don't perform liposuction on anorexics. We don't condone amputating limbs from apotemnophilias (persons who believe they have an excess limb, also commonly called "wannabes"), nor should we legally condone surgery as a method to change 'gender' like one changes clothes." The case is currently pending before the Second District Court of Appeals in Lakeland, Florida.

Mathew D. Staver, Esq.
Liberty Counsel
http://www.lc.org.

An Ally of the Alliance Defense Fund