TRANSSEXUAL AGAIN SUES FOR CUSTODY: From the St. Petersburg Times

Three years ago, the case of a Tampa Bay area transsexual who sought custody of two children gained national attention and set legal precedent.

On Friday, he was back in court, again making a case that is a first of its kind in Florida and, perhaps, the nation.

In 2001, a Pinellas judge granted custody of the children to Michael Kantaras, a transsexual who had once been married to a woman. A key part of the decision: The judge ruled Kantaras, who was named Margo at birth, was a man.

But last year an appeals court ruled Kantaras, who retains female genitalia but has facial hair and other male characteristics, was a woman.

Because same-sex marriages are illegal in Florida, the ruling voided his former marriage. The appeals court made no ruling on the child custody issue, however, and kicked that back to the judge.

In court Friday, lawyers for Kantaras' ex-wife, Linda, said she should receive sole custody of the children. They told Senior Judge Gerard O'Brien Jr. that because the marriage was voided, Michael Kantaras has no right to have any custodial rights. ...

Michael Kantaras, 45, has no direct biological ties to the children, who are 15 and 12. He adopted the oldest, who his ex-wife had through a previous relationship. The youngest was conceived through artificial insemination with donor sperm from Michael Kantaras' brother.

Michael Kantaras' attorneys argued that courts have previously ruled that men whose marriages are voided still have obligations to their children, even if they are adopted. Those cases involve men who committed incest or bigamy.

The case of a transsexual, however, is a first of its kind and will set legal precedent. ...

Because transsexuals appear to be the opposite of their birth sex, courts may be granting transsexual marriages and not even know it. Michael Kantaras, for instance, married again in May 2003. Upon hearing that in court Friday, O'Brien said: "That marriage is going to be invalidated if someone challenges it."

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