Can a person born a man but who is now a woman marry another woman?
Sabrina J. Hill and her longtime girlfriend, Therese "Tee" Bur, were legally married Monday in San Antonio after being unable to get a marriage license in El Paso.
"It's a weight lifted," Hill said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "Now the federal government and state government recognize our love."
The marriage of two women from rural Hudspeth County has put a spotlight on Texas laws and has El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal asking the state attorney general for clarification.
Hill, 60, was born with both male and female organs and is listed as a man in her birth certificate. But her current identification has her as a woman.
The Texas Constitution defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
According to documents, Hill was born Virgil Eugene Hill Jr. in New York state.
After a medical procedure as a infant, Hill grew up as boy and as a man served in the U.S. Army. She said she always felt something was different. "I knew what I looked like and what I was, was not the same," Hill said.
Around the age of 28, a medical exam found that Hill had ovaries. She eventually had a sex-change surgery, and she legally became Sabrina Jeanne Hill in 1991.
About 17 years ago, Hill and Bur met and have since considered themselves to be married, even if it not legally.
"I found God doesn't make mistakes," Bur said. "We don't always understand why (Hill) is different, but she is a child of God."
It wasn't until Hill attempted to get veteran medical benefits for Bur as a spouse that the couple decided to get married. In February, they applied for a marriage license in El Paso.
"No one in El Paso was ever rude to us," Bur, 52, said. "They were always supportive. They just felt they didn't have the authority to deal with it."
Last month, Bernal filed a request asking Attorney General Greg Abbott to decide whether Hill is a man based on the birth certificate or if Hill is a woman based on the name-change documents and on a driver's license.
"A request for the opinion is not necessarily just on this case but it's about how to apply the law," said Elhiu Dominguez, spokesman for the county attorney. "The information on this case contradicted each other. Basically, we are asking the attorney general if there is a document that is more important than the other ones."
Bexar County Clerk Gerard C. "Gerry" Rickhoff said the marriage license was granted based on Hill's birth certificate.
Rickhoff said Bexar County's decision is based on the Littleton vs. Prange court case out of San Antonio in 1999.
In that case, Christie Lee Littleton (born Lee Cavazos before a sex change) was married for seven years until the death of her husband, Jonathan Mark Littleton. Christie Lee Littleton filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against a doctor. A judge ruled against the lawsuit, deciding that Littleton, based on the original birth certificate, was a male and therefore could not be the spouse of another man.
Rickhoff said his office approves marriage licenses to same-sex couples, depending on their birth certificate, about once or twice each year.
"As I recall, he (the judge) said you are what you are at your birth," Rickhoff said. "I don't care what they appear to me or what manner of dress. We are familiar with them, and they are well received when they come to our office."
Hill and Bur never intended to make a social statement or seek publicity but are now receiving interview requests from as far away as England.
"It did strike me. We have been living so covertly, being careful not to express public displays of affection, and then we were standing in front of a judge saying, 'You may now kiss your bride,'" Bur said. "A public display of affection -- it is so validating."
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