Lawmakers in the Texas legislature are considering a bill that would prohibit people in the state from changing the gender marker on their birth certificate to reflect their gender identity.
The measure, Senate Bill 406, is now being debated in the Texas Senate.
Last year, the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped changing gender on driver’s licenses unless courts intervened, according to FOX 4.
The Senate bill would block changes to gender on birth certificates, regardless of whether there is a court order.
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“This bill is not about restricting anyone’s personal expression. It is about ensuring legal documents reflect accurate statistics,” GOP state Sen. Mayes Middleton, who sponsored the bill, said Monday in a State Affairs Committee hearing. “Right now, the only way to change sex is by court order, and this bill prevents that.”
Testifying before the committee, Megan Benton of the group Texas Values said this is “a matter of public safety and public record.”
“If a man can legally change his birth certificate to say he is a woman, then it’s possible to get a driver’s license, passport, and social security card that also says he is female,” she said.
Several transgender Texans also testified before the committee, saying they believe they are being unfairly targeted.
“I’m not a monster. This is not a fetish for me, and I did not decide to be a woman,” Amanda McLaughlin said.
Megan Fairbanks asked, “What harm have I caused society?”
“I don’t play sports. The only thing I want to do in the bathroom is use the bathroom and touch up my makeup and wash my hands,” Fairbanks said.
The Transgender Education Network of Texas’ policy coordinator, Landon Richie, argued that the bill would lead to isolation and incentivize others to discriminate or put targets on the backs of transgender people who he said are already vulnerable.
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The bill is expected to pass through the Senate and be sent to the House.
This comes after state lawmakers passed legislation banning biological men from competing in girls’ school sports.
At the federal level, President Donald Trump signed an executive order recognizing male and female as the only genders.
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