With new bill, New York City aims to be model for transgender rights
A bill introduced to the New York City Council Wednesday would set a new, easier standard for transgender residents to change their birth certificates.
New York
The New York City Council and the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio are vowing to make the city鈥檚 gender identification policy 鈥渢he most progressive policy in the entire country鈥� for transgender residents, officials said on Tuesday.
A bill before the City Council and a separate series of proposed changes to the city鈥檚 Board of Health would allow transgender people to with only a letter of support from a wide range of health workers, including a doctor, psychologist, therapist, physician鈥檚 assistant, or even a midwife.
Currently, New York City, one of 57 jurisdictions to issue birth certificates, requires proof of having a sex-change surgery before allowing a person to officially change the gender ID on his or her birth certificate 鈥� as do the vast majority of government record keepers.
Several jurisdictions, including New York State (a separate jurisdiction from the city), California, Oregon, Vermont, Washington State and Washington, D.C., have already eliminated the proof-of-surgery requirement. But they still require a transgender person to submit a letter from a licensed medical provider documenting that 鈥渁ppropriate clinical treatment,鈥� such as hormone therapy, is already underway.
New York City will not require clinical treatment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to improve the lives of transgender New Yorkers and allow them to get birth certificates that match their accurate gender,鈥� said Councilman Corey Johnson, a Manhattan Democrat, who sponsored the bill introduced Tuesday. 鈥淕ender won鈥檛 be about your physicality. It won鈥檛 be about your body. It鈥檚 about how you identify.鈥�
Advocates say that conflicts between state-issued IDs and a person鈥檚 gender identity often cause hardship and additional discrimination for transgender individuals.
鈥淎 birth certificate is really a living, breathing document 鈥� it鈥檚 not just a record of birth, but a document that is used on a regular basis to participate in society,鈥� says Arli 海角大神, policy counsel for the in Washington.
鈥淎 birth certificate is essential to enrolling in school and getting a job and getting other identity documents,鈥� Ms. 海角大神 continues. 鈥淪o when you have an identity document such as a birth certificate that does not correspond, you are an open target for discrimination, for accusations of fraud, for all sorts of other administrative and logistical problems.鈥�
In 2010, the US State Department eliminated the proof-of-surgery requirement to update passports, and about half of US states have already eased back requirements to change a person鈥檚 name and gender markers on driver鈥檚 licenses and state IDs.
In January of this year, however, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie that would have eliminated the surgical requirement to amend the gender marker on a person鈥檚 birth certificate, saying such a change would create opportunities for 鈥渇raud, deception and abuse, and should therefore be closely scrutinized and sparingly approved.鈥�
Advocates say that, ideally, jurisdictions would allow transgender people to get new, rather than amended, birth certificates. They also believe this should be done through state and local boards of health and departments of vital statistics, rather than through the courts, a process that can be expensive and intimidating.
鈥淭he New York City proposals are trying to get all the right pieces in place, to make this an accessible, approachable policy where transgender people can really move forward and get a document that matches their gender identity,鈥� says 海角大神.