Nathan Gale, of Scottish Transgender Alliance, explains why trans people will be free from the 'spousal veto' Same-sex marriage will be legal in Scotland from 16 December. As couples across Scotland plan their big day, trans people who are already married or in a civil partnership can breathe a sigh of relief knowing they can finally have the gender they live as legally recognized without being forced to break up their families. In 2005, many trans people in the UK won the right to have their gender legally recognized, the culmination of decades of campaigning in the courts and parliament. But that new right did not apply to all trans people. In particular, the Gender Recognition Act forces trans people who are married to choose between their marriage and their right to gender recognition. A married trans person can only get gender recognition if they first divorce, and of course many have been married for years in a marriage that continues to be loving and affirming, and which they want to keep. But that untenable choice is coming to an end. The Scottish Government announced today that from 16 December, trans people who married in Scotland will finally be able to get gender recognition without divorcing. Unfortunately, people who married in Northern Ireland still won’t have the same right, because the Democratic Unionist Party continue to veto LGBTI rights there. For people who married in Scotland there is an additional right – to get gender recognition as your own decision, a decision that cannot be blocked by your spouse. Source