Nikki Araguz
We just received an update from Meghan Stabler, a board member for the Human Rights Campaign who’s been down in Wharton monitoring the proceedings in the Nikki Araguz case.
Araguz, of course, is the transgender widow who’s being sued by her deceased husband’s family to prevent her from receiving death benefits. A ruling was expected in the case today, but Stabler reports the district judge has put off his decision until next week.
Stabler said based on today’s proceedings, she believes the ruling will most likely go against Nikki Araguz, declaring her marriage invalid and denying her death benefits.
“From what I’m seeing, it doesn’t look good, but we’re going to continue fighting,” Stabler said. “I think the gist of it is, it seems like a foregone conclusion, but he didn’t issue a judgment.”
Stabler said expects the judge to issue his ruling sometime in the middle of next week. She added that both she and Araguz will participate in a rally in Austin on Sunday as part of the 2nd Annual Harvey Milk Day Conference.
“We’re expecting a ton of press for that,” Stabler said. “It’s already a foregone conclusion that if we close the case we’ll go ahead an appeal.”
UPDATE: Below is a report from Fox 26 on today’s proceedings:
The law is the law and she still is a man and never will become a full woman. Until Texas changes the law Nikki is just like everyone in Texas we have to follow the law, just because she is a transgender she is not special. Nothing aginst Transgenders but if you wanna get married do it in a state that allows it so we do not have to put families in a long term trial.
Vicky,
Gender is more than genital or chromosomes. Nikki is a woman, heart and soul. Maybe if Texas would step up to the 21st Century, cases like this would not have to happen.
It All comes down to the fact that Araguz’s ex wife it greedy pure and simple.
Yes, the law is the law, and the law allows courts to issue orders changing a persons legally recognized sex. The law also allows people who have such orders to use them to prove their identity when obtaining marriage licenses. The law is in Mrs. Araguz’s favor. It’s her in-laws who are attempting to to ignore the law for their own personal gain, and it looks like they may have found an activist judge willing to ignore the law and rule in their favor.
In the end this case boils down to a question of who is Thomas Araguz’s widow, the woman he choose to divorce or the woman he choose to marry.
Nikki is a woman in every way that is meaningful, but I can’t help but thinking that a WISE judge could and would rule that the money be divided 3 ways. Oh for the days of Solomanic wisdom!
As for Texas, we better wake up: transgender people are a fact of life, and if Texas doesn’t start recognizing their fundamental human rights, BUSINESSES will go elsewhere. Prejudice and bigotry is bad for business, bad for Texas, and bad for the people of Texas. Marriages don’t need “DEFENDING” by restricting others from the blessings of monogamous wedded bliss. Inalienable rights, anyone?
As for Nikki, if she wins, a real woman would offer to help defray costs for the ex-wife’s son, the son of her dead hero fireman. I am sure she would make such an offer if she won.
Nikki is a woman – no doubt about it. She had already offered to ‘share’ with the family for the boys. Now they want ALL her death benefits? If Thomas as put ‘Merry Widow’ as beneficiary and there was such a person, would there be such an uproar? When one names a beneficiary it is obvious to me that that person is whom HE wanted to be beneficiary! He would NOT have named her if he did not think she would have done right by the boys! This is so unnecessary!
Seems that since he put “Other” and not spouse on his benefits there is no question; even if you do not believe that Nikki should not be considered a woman. And since he is divorced from his first wife, she has absolutely no claim as a spouse. Where is the question, except that it is a small town that has there head in the sand.