The New York State Senate has just passed a bill intended to simplify the process for trans people who wish to change their gender markers and names on legal documents. LGBTQ+ advocates have long said the process is costly and unnecessarily complicated.
The Gender Recognition Act (GRA), introduced by State Senator Brad Hoylman (D-27th District) and Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell (D-69th District), waives an antiquated requirement that forced trans people publicize their name change in a newspaper. The proposed law would also add the “X” gender marker as an option and allow for “self-certification” of legal gender, removing the requirement that a medical provider “prove” a trans person’s gender.
The bill also codifies a recent administrative change allowing minors to change the gender on their birth certificate with parental permission.
Hoylman, the only openly gay member of the New York Senate, affirmed in a statement that “each and every New Yorker should be recognized for who they are by their government.”
“Today, it remains incredibly hard for many New Yorkers to get the identification documents they require for travel, to get a job, and even to go to school,” he said. “This bill will change that.”
Today, New Yorkers wishing to change their gender marker on their legal documents face significant difficulties. The notorious newspaper requirement can put trans people at risk by forcing them to “out” themselves to the surrounding community. While there is a process for waiving the requirement, it is inconsistently applied.
In addition to being time-consuming, changing documents and acquiring medical “certifications” of gender can also come with costly fees, which represent a major barrier for trans people in New York state. The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) found that 28% of trans New Yorkers who had not changed their legal name and 24% who had not changed their legal gender cited the high cost of the process, which can include court fees and expensive legal help, as what had prevented them from doing so.
All in all, the survey found that as of 2015, just 12% of trans New Yorkers had been able to update all of their IDs, while over half — 63% — hadn’t been able to update any IDs.
Having inconsistent documents or documents that don’t reflect their current appearance or perceived gender can have very real effects for trans people, ranging from employment discrimination to outright harassment and assault. The USTS found that a quarter of respondents were verbally harassed as a result of showing an ID that didn’t correspond to their gender presentation, and 16% were denied services.
Assembly Member O’Donnell called the legislative push to ease these name change barriers “historic” in a statement. O’Donnell, who is also an out gay man, said in that lacking ID that reflects one’s gender can make trans people’s lives much “harder and more dangerous.” This is “particularly” the case for trans people of color “who too often have limited resources, face disproportionate rates of violence, and are already marginalized by our legal system,” he said.
The GRA has a few additional hurdles to clear before it becomes law. The legislation is currently awaiting a vote in an Assembly committee and then will need to be approved by a full vote on the floor before it is sent to the desk of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Should the legislation be signed into law, it will be the latest victory for the LGBTQ+ community after a bill adding gender identity to the state’s existing nondiscimination laws stalled for nearly two decades. In 2019, New York passed the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), which also adds protections for trans people to the state’s hate crime laws. That legislation, like the GRA, was sponsored by Hoylman.
Trans New Yorkers scored another win against legal marginalization with the recent repeal of the state’s infamous “Walking While Trans” law, an anti-loitering statute that had been used to penalize trans women and trans women of color for existing in public spaces since 1976.
While New York currently allows “X” gender markers on birth certificates, legal advocates sued the state last year on behalf of nonbinary plaintiffs who want the state to offer the option on drivers licenses and other legal documents as well.
Hoylman said in a statement that he is “thankful for the advocates” from the trans community “for their input on this critical bill.” “And I’m proud to live in and represent a state that respects and values the needs of these communities — particularly as queer, and especially transgender people, have come under attack in recent months across our country,” he added.
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