New Bill Would Simplify Process for Changing Gender on Birth Certificates

Coloradans don’t get to choose the sex listed on their birth certificates, and amending the document later in life can be a challenge, especially for transgender individuals. But LGBTQ advocates are hopeful that a new bill, introduced January 4 by Representative Daneya Esgar, that aims to ease the process will finally pass after years of dying in the formerly Republican-controlled state Senate.

A transgender individual seeking a gender change on a birth certificate has to get judicial approval indicating that they've undergone gender-reassignment surgery, which is not always covered by insurance, and officially change their name. But the Birth Certificate Modernization Act would end those requirements and require only a note from a doctor or a therapist saying that the person has undergone treatment for gender transition or has an intersex condition and that the person’s gender designation should be changed. And anyone who changes their gender would get an entirely new birth certificate instead of just an amended version. (The bill only covers Colorado transplants whose home states have similar rules.)

"This is one of the last barriers that exist for transgender folks. And Colorado is behind the times. By changing the law with what we’re proposing, we’d be in line with how the federal government handles passport identification and Social Security identification," says Senator Dominick Moreno, the bill's main sponsor in that chamber.

Legislators have introduced similar bills in the past four legislative sessions, garnering bipartisan support in the House but the cold shoulder in the Senate. Moreno says opponents were usually fundamentally at odds with the transgender community and expressed concerns that they would "flip-flop" on their gender.

Read more: https://www.westword.com/news/new-colorado-bill-would-simplify-process-for-changing-gender-on-birth-certificates-11107475