Love Conquers All For Transgender Woman

Congratulations are in order to Danielle Stevenson and Rebecca Love (appropriate last name) on their marriage. More and more cases of Transgender people getting married and doing all the things one does when they are living their authentic lives will become common place as it is for cis-gendered people. The notoriety will wear off and the media will move on to other issues. In the meantime, educating the general public about Transgender people is a priority. We get married. We are born. We go to school. We go to work. We are just people who want to be allowed to live our authentic lives in peace and on an equal basis as others. Taking the unknown out of the person through education is the best way I can think of to do this. Transgender Woman Issued Marriage License in Shasta County Reported by: Elizabeth Gadley Email: egadley@khsltv.com Last Update: 3/15 8:50 pm A Shasta County transgender woman and her fiancé are getting ready to tie the knot here in the North State. Danielle Severson and Rebecca Love weren't sure it would happen after being denied a marriage license in Reno, Nevada. “We went to try to get it in Reno and she had all the documentation proving she was legally a male but they wouldn’t give us a marriage license because her drivers license stated she was a female,” says Rebecca Love. Disappointed, the couple applied in Shasta County where Severson is a resident. To their surprise the County Clerk Cathy Darling issued the marriage license. “I wanted to see if they'd do the same thing and I was surprised, I was kind of surprised that they didn't, cause when you've been through so much discrimination, you expect it,” says Severson. “So when they gave it to us I said, hey babe, there you go, we're getting married.” Darling said she had to consult with the California Department of Health. The State told her to go by what is on the birth certificate. 49-year-old Danielle Severson, born Dana Severson, is a pre-operative transsexual.  “I always felt like a woman from way back when but I didn’t have the parts,” She started her transition at age 40. Now she lives as a woman and takes hormones but hasn’t had sexual reassignment surgery yet. Severson says it hasn’t been easy living as a woman. “I knew one day I would lose my job, I would lose my family and stuff like that.” But despite all the hardships and discrimination, she says it’s something she had to do. “I have to be who I am to keep my sanity” Severson says dating after the transition has been hard too. “A lot of lesbian women don’t want to have anything to do with anyone who was a guy.” But Love, who does see herself as a lesbian, has no problem with Severson being transgender. “I hope to someday get the surgery and live as somewhat of a gay couple, the way we are living right now,” says Severson. “What most people don’t realize is because I take female hormones I can’t function as a male anyway, it’s more of a lesbian relationship.” The pair met online via a Craigslist ad and quickly fell in love. This will be Severson’s fourth marriage but her first as a woman.  Severson has three kids. At least one of them will be at the wedding. It will be 21-year-old Love’s first marriage.  “I am a human being,” says Love. “We have feelings too and so a lot of the comments people say do hurt but I learn to just leave it alone there’s going to be a lot of negativity out there.” For them, their love for each other is more important than anything else. The couple's happy ending is a little bittersweet. Love wanted to get married in Reno because that's where her family lives and her mother can't afford to come here for the wedding. ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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