Free Republic

In a ruling that boosts the legal status of people who undergo sex-change operations, a Pinellas County judge on Friday awarded custody of two children to a male transsexual who was born a woman 44 years ago. In his exhaustive, 809-page ruling, Pinellas Circuit Judge Gerard O'Brien found that Michael Kantaras' sex-change operation in 1986 legally made him a male, the rightful father and most suitable custodial parent of the two children he was raising with his estranged wife, Linda.

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) _ A judge granted child custody to a transsexual man engaged in a bitter divorce case and ruled Friday that that the man is legally a male under Florida law, even though he was born female. The ruling was the first of its kind in Florida courts. Circuit Judge Gerard O'Brien ruled that Michael Kantaras can legally adopt his wife's teenage son and be listed as the father of a child she conceived during their marriage with donated sperm. Legal experts have said the ruling could provide a legal definition of gender in the state and also...

Florida Transsexual Man Granted Custody Clearwater, Fla. (AP) - A judge granted child custody to a transsexual man engaged in a bitter divorce case and ruled Friday that that the man is legally a male under Florida law, even though he was born female. The ruling was the first of its kind in Florida courts. Circuit Judge Gerard O'Brien ruled that Michael Kantaras can legally adopt his wife's teenage son and be listed as the father of a child she conceived during their marriage with donated sperm. Legal experts have said the ruling could provide a legal definition of...