Friday, December 18, 2015

A Tale Of Two Governors

The birth certificate bill here in Connecticut passed with strong bipartisan support and was signed by the governor. However, down in New Jersey it is a political football.
Christie trumps N.J. Democrats on his veto of transgender birth certificate bill
NJ Advance Media for NJ
By Susan K. Livio
December 17, 2015

TRENTON — By one vote, the state Senate on Thursday failed to override Gov. Chris Christie's veto of a bill that would have permitted people in New Jersey who have undergone a clinical sex change procedure to amend their gender designation on their birth certificates.

Two Republicans, Sens. Diane Allen (R-Burlington) and Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R-Somerset) voted with the 24 Democrats who control the upper house, but a total of 27 was needed to overcome the veto. The bill was withdrawn rather than letting it go down to defeat. That allows the Senate to bring it up again before the current two-year legislative session expires Jan. 12. 
So why did he veto the bill? According to his veto statement,
Last year, I vetoed identical legislation noting that a birth certificate is one of the most important legal documents that a person possesses and that proposed measures to revise the standards for the issuance of amended birth certificates must be accompanied by appropriate safeguards to mitigate security related risks. Birth certificates unlock access to many of our nation and State’s critical and protected benefits such as passports, driver’s licenses, and social services, as well as other important security-dependent allowances. Accordingly, I remain committed to the principle that efforts to significantly alter State law concerning the issuance of vital records that have the potential to create legal uncertainties should be closely scrutinized and sparingly approved.
[…]
When I vetoed this same bill last session, I asked the Legislature to consider incorporating appropriate measures to alleviate the security concerns and legal uncertainties that would be created by this legislation. Once again, I ask the Legislature to reconsider this proposal and to bring forth legislation that addresses these legitimate and significant concerns.
What do you use your birth certificate for?

Is it used for historic records or is used to prove citizenship and who you parents are?

It is used for the latter to prove you are a US citizen and parental rights and having it reflect you appearance when you apply for a job. When you apply for job you have to prove that you are legally entitled to be here in the US and if you give your future employer a birth certificate that says you are male and you look female you are way more likely to be discriminated against.

Many trans people cannot afford to have gender confirming surgery even with insurance, many trans people have life threating diseases like diabetes or heart disease that prevents them from having major surgery or some may not need surgery. Gender dysphoria is not the same in every trans person and if their gender dysphoria can be lessen to a manageable level without surgery why force them to have surgery to change their documentation?

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