Hong Kong Transsexual Gets Right to Marry

A transsexual's marriage battle is changing the laws of Hong Kong. After a series of appeals, a court granted the woman, known in documents as "W," the right to marry her boyfriend. Prior verdicts said couples had to be opposite sexes at birth to marry, AFP reports via Yahoo! 7 News. But "it is contrary to principle to focus merely on biological features fixed at the time of birth," the latest ruling said.

Current laws "impair the very essence of W's right to marry," the ruling continued. Her lawyer applauded the decision: "This is a case about sexual minorities being recognized ... their rights are just as important as everyone else's." For her part, W—who noted that her sex reassignment surgery was government-funded—called it "a victory for all women in Hong Kong." The decision will be suspended for a year as the city edits its laws. (More Hong Kong stories.)