JJ Larson and Dani Pellett
Two lesbian couples, each with a trans partner, married in Judge Carl Ginsberg’s court Friday morning.
Genevieve Jonte and Ashley Boucher said they contacted every justice of the peace in Dallas County, but none would perform their wedding. Then they contacted other judges. Ginsberg was the only judge who responded affirmatively.
Dani Pellett and JJ Larson decided to join them.
Ginsberg asked which couple was going first after the 100 guests filed into the courtroom.
“Dibs,” Pellett said.
The couple’s mothers signed the marriage license and kissed the brides.
Jonte and Boucher’s two children, ages 3 and 5, dressed in top hats for the occasion and held flowers as their moms got married.
The courtroom erupted in a standing ovation after Ginsberg announced, “You are now a happily, lawfully wedded couple,” after each of the ceremonies.
However, a court ruling in Corpus Christi on Thursday may affect the marriages. In that case, a judge ruled that a marriage between a man and a trans woman was legal. That overturns a 1999 case that prevented a trans person from having a heterosexual marriage, effectively legalizing same-sex marriage if one partner is trans.
The marriage licenses were issued to the two Dallas couples prior to the ruling, and it is unclear whether they remain valid under Texas law or whether Attorney General Greg Abbott will challenge their validity.
