Court Rules Against Transsexual Widow

A marriage between a man and a transsexual woman is not valid, the Kansas Supreme Court decided, rejecting a transsexual's claim for part of a $2.5-million estate.

Kansas law declares same-sex marriages invalid; the high court said J'Noel Gardiner is not a woman and therefore cannot marry a man.

Gardiner was 40 when she married Marshall Gardiner, 85, in 1998. Her claim was challenged by Gardiner's son, Joe. Marshall Gardiner died the next year of a heart attack.