Friday ruling eases birth certificate woes for transgender Californians

by: George Simpson

Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 16:04:32 PM PDT

California’s First District Court of Appeals ruled that people who need to change the gender listed on their birth certificate must be allowed to do so, regardless of where they currently live. 

The existing California law only allowed people to obtain a birth certificate with the proper gender if they lived in the same county of their birth, or if their current county of residence allowed them to request one.

Many counties around the country (in this case, ones in Kansas) will not recognize this right, an obstacle that this ruling removes for native Californians. 

This problem is also being addressed through EQCA-sponsored AB 1185 (Lieu) the Equal ID Act.  This legislation was introduced in February, but has yet to be passed.  Hopefully the legislature will strengthen the voice of the Court on this timely constitutional matter, and pass AB 1185.    

In such a security-conscious age, it’s increasingly important for everyone to be able to obtain accurate official documents and identification. 

Maybe it’s because I’m an East Coast transplant myself, but I don’t even know many Californians who actually still live in the county of their birth.  People shouldn’t lose their rights just for moving. 

Tomorrow, another landmark trial for transgender rights begins over the murder of Angie Zapata, Colorado’s first trial for a gender-identity motivated hate crime.  San Diego blogger Autumn Sandeen will be on site covering the proceedings for Pam’s House Blend.   

We’ll see if the defense stoops to a “trans panic” strategy.  I am not aware whether CO has laws prohibiting such vile tactics, such as the 2006 EQCA-sponsored Justice for Victims Act (Lieber), inspired by the brutal murder of Gwen Araujo in Newark, California.   

--Crossposted from the California Ripple Effect.