CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee authorities have invalidated the 18-month-old marriage of a transgender couple, saying the state considers both to be men.
Jo T. Rittenberry, 46, was born a man and claims to have had sex reassignment surgery in Canada. Rittenberry had officials legally change the gender on his Kentucky birth certificate and got a Tennessee driver’s license saying he is female, The Leaf-Chronicle of Clarksville reported.
Rittenberry married Jeffery Scott Phillips, 36, in November 2007.
Kelly Farmer, director of communications at the Davidson County Clerk’s Office, said Tennessee authorities will not honor the marriage because Rittenberry was not born a woman.