WARREN Judge rejects license request

This is the second time the judge has denied the couple a marriage license.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A judge's decision to deny a Howland couple's request for a marriage license is only a detour on the trip to the altar, the pair says.
Jacob B. Nash and Erin A. Barr said that Judge Thomas Swift's decision Tuesday to deny their request for a license does not change their plans. The judge issued the decision after an hourlong hearing.
"I love Erin. I want to marry her, and we will take this as far as we have to," said Nash, explaining that they're willing to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if it is not settled in a lower court.
A transsexual is described in Webster's New World Dictionary as "a person who is predisposed to identify with the opposite sex, sometimes so strongly as to undergo surgery and hormone injections to effect a change of sex."
No special treatment
"We are not asking for any special treatment," Nash said. "We want to be treated like everyone else."
Nash and Barr said they feel they had to provide more information to the court than most couples who apply for a marriage license. He said he showed his birth certificate when a valid photo identification, such as a driver's license, is all that is required.
They both added that they had to go through a hearing, when most couples fill out the application and receive the license in about five days.
"We are asking to be granted the same rights as the other couples who want to get married," Barr said. "We walked in with the appropriate information and we believe we have every right to get married."
Nash said that he was born a female in 1964 and received an amended birth certificate about two years ago, which states he is now male. He provided the court with copies of both birth certificates.
Additional information
During Tuesday's hearing, the judge requested additional information from Nash. Judge Swift requested information on the type of surgeries Nash has had. Nash's attorney, Deborah Smith, objected to the line of questioning and advised Nash not to answer.
"You are prying into private information, and that is an invasion of my client's privacy," Smith said. "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has already issued Mr. Nash an amended birth certificate."
Judge Swift said he is allowed to inquire about the surgery issues so that he can make sure "a valid marriage will result." The judge said without the information, he has to deny the request for the license.
This is the second time the judge has denied the couple's request. They had filed an application for marriage in August. That application was denied in September after a lengthy hearing. The judge said at that time that he denied the first request because Nash failed to disclose on the original application of marriage that he previously had been married.
The couple stated during the September hearing that they forgot to mention Nash's previous marriage, under the name of Pamela Ann Nash.
That marriage ended in divorce May 6, 1998, court records show.
The judge said their explanation that they forgot the previous marriage lacks credibility. The couple has appealed that ruling and said they plan to appeal the judge's ruling from Tuesday.
sinkovich@vindy.com