What's a state to do? In 1995, the Utah Legislature passed a bill declaring that same-sex marriages performed anywhere in the world would not be recognized in the state of Utah. It seemed clear enough at the time.

Unfortunately for those lawmakers, they did not know about Nicole Cline, formerly Neal Cline, a male-to-female transsexual who is currently midway through operations to complete the transition to female.

In January, when Cline and Marlene S. Smith applied for a marriage license in Salt Lake County, Cline was named as the groom on the marriage license, reports the Feb 5 issue of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Said Salt Lake County Chief Deputy Clerk Nick Flores, who granted the license: "We had him sign an affidavit that he swore under oath that he was the person he represented himself to be on the application form. There were no court papers that said he changed his sex, only that he changed his name."

Flores went on to say there was no legal reason to deny Cline the license.

The couple was wed at the Sacred Light of Christ Metropolitan Community Church in Salt Lake City.

No one, it seems, has any idea what will happen when Cline completes the surgery, which is expected to happen within the next year. Utah marriage laws do not address the issue of gender transition.