Williamsburg City Councilman Pushes Bill To Make It Easier For Men To Call Themselves Women On A Birth Certificate

Sponsors of bill allowing changes to birth certificates

Corey D. Johnson (gay)

Margaret S. Chin (represents the Lower East Side)

Andrew Cohen  (represents the Riverdale)

Costa G. Constantinides

Daniel R. Garodnick (represents the Upper East Side)

Peter A. Koo (Former Republican)

Brad S. Lander (represents Kensington, and Boro Park)

Mark Levine (represents the Upper West Side)

Annabel Palma

Donovan J. Richards (represents Far Rockway)

Ydanis A. Rodriguez (represents the Washington Heights)

Karen Koslowitz

Stephen T. Levin (represents the Williamsburg)

Ritchie J. Torres (gay)

Antonio Reynoso

Helen K. Rosenthal (represents the Upper West Side)

Julissa Ferreras

James G. Van Bramer (gay)

Ben Kallos (represents the Upper East Side)

Daniel Dromm (gay)

Rosie Mendez (Lesbian)

Letitia Ms. James (city wide)

did he mention his support for gays? did they ask?

NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL PUSHES FOR EASIER PATH TO CHANGING GENDER ON BIRTH CERTIFICATE

When the Obama administration eased passport regulations to allow sex designation to change without surgery, Melissa Sklarz thought she would finally be able to travel outside of the country. But after a long process involving doctor’s notes, websites that crashed, and a visit to the New York City Bureau of Records, the director of the New York Trans Rights Organization still received a passport labeling her as a man.

“You will not find a transsexual person in New York more politically involved and aware than myself,” Sklarz said. “Yet if an outdated birth certificate can stop me from completing a transition that effectively ended years ago, what happens to other people not as involved in policy as me?”

The New York City Council’s Committee on Health heard testimony Monday from Sklarz and more than a dozen others on a law that would remove barriers to changing one’s sex on birth certificates issued by New York City.Local Law 491 would eliminate the sex reassignment surgery requirement, instead asking for an affidavit from a health care professional stating the applicant’s sex designation does not match their gender "identity".

Transgender New Yorkers and advocates spoke for over an hour in the City Council chambers on the issue, many sharing deeply personal testimony about the struggles caused by a mismatch between documents and personal identity. Tiffany Mathieu, representing the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community Center, spoke of being denied healthcare coverage and welfare benefits “because they said my gender marker on my birth certificate didn’t match my ID."

And Bahar Akyurtlu, speaking for Gays and Lesbians of Bushwick Empowered and Make the Road New York, argued against the surgery requirement. “Surgical interventions are extremely expensive, not readily accessible in most parts of the country (including New York State), and are intensely physically demanding processes, which makes surgery wholly unreasonable as a mandatory bureaucratic procedure,” Akyurtlu testified.

New York City keeps separate records than the rest of the state, and those born outside of the five boroughs can already change the sex marker without the surgery requirement since a law passed at the state level this summer. The proposed law would bring City Hall in line with Albany—a rare situation, said Empire State Pride Agenda’s Matthew McMorrow.

“New York State, historically several steps "behind" New York City on important civil "rights" issues, now has a more "progressive" policy on this particular issue that New York City,” he said to the Committee, chaired by Councilman Corey Johnson, who sponsored the bill.

Johnson, who is openly gay, is ending his first year in the City Council representing the district vacated by former Speaker Christine Quinn on the west side of Manhattan and has continued in her footsteps as an advocate for LGBT-rights. This law differs slightly Albany’s version, avoiding language referencing “medical treatment” in order to distance the council from the notion that transgender is a “disorder.” It is also being paired with Local Law 492, creating an advisory board to discuss the gender marker change requirement.

Advocates were optimistic the law would easily pass, and Akyurtlu was not afraid to share hopes for the future.

“While it might seem like a small thing to others,” she said, “being recognized for who are has enormous personal value and gives a small modicum of control in a world that is all too ready to judge us.”

(City and State NY)

from the Committee Report 11/10/14 introducing these 2 bills

The U.S. Department of State also updated its policy on passports in 2010, adopting a more progressive standard.  According to this new policy, applicants seeking to change the sex designation on their passports have to present a certification from a physician that the applicant has undergone “appropriate clinical treatment” for gender transition.  The Social Security Administration follows a similar procedure.

This bill was designed to allow men to enter womans bathrooms disguised as a woman
(to prove that you can see the opening of this video  on November 10th)

"Orthodox" Gary Schaer And Lakewood's Robert Singer Voted To Allow Children To Change Their Sex On Their Birth Certificate

This is the official Statement explaining the purpose of the bill

ASSEMBLY HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 4097

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 10, 2013

      The Assembly Human Services Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 4097.

      This bill revises the requirements for obtaining an amended certificate of birth due to a change in sex.  To obtain the amended certificate, a person would be required to submit:  1) a form provided by the State registrar of vital statistics and completed by the person's licensed health care provider which indicates that the person has undergone clinically appropriate treatment for the purpose of gender transition, based on contemporary medical standards, or that the person has an intersex condition; and 2) a certified copy of a court order indicating the person's name change, if the person has changed his or her name.  The application may be submitted on the person’s behalf by a parent or guardian, if the person is a minor.  The State registrar is to issue the amended certificate which shows the sex and, if applicable, the name of the person as it has been changed.

      Under current law, a person is required to undergo sex reassignment surgery to receive an amended birth certificate, and to submit to the State registrar a medical certificate from the person’s physician indicating that his or her sex has been changed by surgical procedure.  In addition, the law requires submission of a copy of a court order indicating the person's name change, while the bill provides for such submission, if there has been a name change.

      Current law further requires the State registrar to place the original certificate of birth and all papers pertaining to the amended certificate of birth under seal, which is not to be broken except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.  This bill would permit the seal to be broken upon the request of the person who is the subject of the certificate of birth, or upon the request of the parent or guardian, if the person is a minor.

      The bill also provides that in the case of a resident of this State who was born in another state or in a foreign jurisdiction, if such other state or foreign jurisdiction requires a court order in order to amend a certificate of birth to reflect a change in sex, a court in this State would have jurisdiction to issue such an order.

Comment on this story an a newssite

This is another important negative part of this law from a security point of view (which is part of the reason Chris Christie vetoed this Bill)  (the underlined part is added to the old law)

 b.    The amended certificate of birth shall be of the same general type as the original certificate of birth, but shall not be marked as amended.

Here is the roll call of all those who voted on this bill.
Yes means to allow minors to have their birth certificate's sex changed and get rid of all marking on all changed birth certificate that indicate it was ever changed
No means your in favor of sanity!
blue means Orthodox legislator who voted the wrong way
Yellow means someone who represents Lakewood, that voted the wrong way
Green means someone that voted the wrong way, who has a sizable enough Orthodox population that the politician in question is forced to listen to us, and if need be may be able to knock out!


Senate Bill sponsors

Sponsored by:  Senator  JOSEPH F. VITALE

Sponsored by:  Senator  LORETTA WEINBERG (Teaneck)

Co-Sponsored by: Senator Ruiz

Assembly Bill sponsors

Sponsored by: Assemblywoman  VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE (Teaneck)

Sponsored by: Assemblyman  REED GUSCIORA

Co-Sponsored by: Assemblywoman Jasey, Assemblyman Singleton

 Committee Voting:
AHU  6/10/2013  -  r/favorably  -  Yes {5}  No {0}  Not Voting {1}  Abstains {0}  -  Roll Call

	Vainieri Huttle, Valerie (C) - Yes	Tucker, Cleopatra G. (V) - Yes	Angelini, Mary Pat - Not Voting
	Coutinho, Albert - Yes	Cryan, Joseph - Yes	Fuentes, Angel - Yes

 SHH  12/12/2013  -  r/favorably  -  Yes {6}  No {2}  Not Voting {1}  Abstains {1}  -  Roll Call

	Vitale, Joseph F. (C) - Yes	Madden, Fred H., Jr. (V) - Yes	Addiego, Dawn Marie - No
	Allen, Diane B. - Not Voting	Buono, Barbara - Yes	Gordon, Robert M. - Yes
	Pou, Nellie - Yes	Singer, Robert W. - Abstain	Thompson, Samuel D. - No
	Whelan, Jim - Yes

 Session Voting:
Asm.  6/24/2013  -  3RDG FINAL PASSAGE   -  Yes {43}  No {27}  Not Voting {3}  Abstains {7}  -  Roll Call

	Albano, Nelson T. - Yes	Amodeo, John F. - No	Andrzejczak, Bob - Yes
	Angelini, Mary Pat - Abstain	Barnes, Peter J., III - Yes	Benson, Daniel R. - Yes
	Bramnick, Jon M. - No	Brown, Chris A. - No	Brown, Christopher J. - No
	Bucco, Anthony M. - No	Burzichelli, John J. - Yes	Caputo, Ralph R. - Yes
	Caride, Marlene - Yes	Carroll, Michael Patrick - No	Casagrande, Caroline - No
	Chivukula, Upendra J. - Yes	Ciattarelli, Jack M. - No	Clifton, Robert D. - Abstain
	Conaway, Herb, Jr. - Yes	Connors, Sean - Yes	Coughlin, Craig J. - Yes
	Coutinho, Albert - Not Voting	Cryan, Joseph - Yes	Dancer, Ronald S. - Abstain
	DeAngelo, Wayne P. - Yes	DeCroce, BettyLou - Abstain	DiMaio, John - No
	Diegnan, Patrick J., Jr. - Yes	Egan, Joseph V. - Yes	Eustace, Timothy J. - Yes
	Fuentes, Angel - Yes	Giblin, Thomas P. - Yes	Gove, DiAnne C. - No
	Green, Jerry - Yes	Greenwald, Louis D. - Yes	Gusciora, Reed - Yes
	Handlin, Amy H. - No	Jasey, Mila M. - Yes	Jimenez, Angelica M. - Yes
	Johnson, Gordon M. - Yes	Kean, Sean T. - No	Lampitt, Pamela R. - Yes
	Mainor, Charles - Yes	McGuckin, Gregory P. - No	McHose, Alison Littell - No
	McKeon, John F. - Yes	Moriarty, Paul D. - Abstain	Mosquera, Gabriela M. - Yes
	Munoz, Nancy F. - No	O'Donnell, Jason - Yes	O'Scanlon, Declan J., Jr. - No
	Oliver, Sheila Y. - Not Voting	Peterson, Erik - No	Prieto, Vincent - Yes
	Quijano, Annette - Yes	Ramos, Ruben J., Jr. - Yes	Rible, David P. - No
	Riley, Celeste M. - Abstain	Rudder, Scott - No	Rumana, Scott T. - No
	Rumpf, Brian E. - No	Russo, David C. - No	Schaer, Gary S. - Yes
	Schepisi, Holly - Abstain	Schroeder, Robert - No	Simon, Donna M. - No
	Singleton, Troy - Yes	Space, Parker - No	Spencer, L. Grace - Yes
	Stender, Linda - Yes	Sumter, Shavonda E. - Yes	Tucker, Cleopatra G. - Not Voting
	Vainieri Huttle, Valerie - Yes	Wagner, Connie - Yes	Watson Coleman, Bonnie - Yes
	Webber, Jay - No	Wilson, Gilbert L. - Yes	Wimberly, Benjie E. - Yes
	Wisniewski, John S. - Yes	Wolfe, David W. - No

 Sen.    12/19/2013  -  3RDG FINAL PASSAGE   -  Yes {21}  No {11}  Not Voting {8}    -  Roll Call

	Addiego, Dawn Marie - No	Allen, Diane B. - Yes	Bateman, Christopher - No
	Beach, James - Yes	Beck, Jennifer - Not Voting	Bucco, Anthony R. - No
	Buono, Barbara - Yes	Cardinale, Gerald - No	Codey, Richard J. - Yes
	Connors, Christopher J. - Not Voting	Cunningham, Sandra B. - Yes	Doherty, Michael J. - No
	Gill, Nia H. - Yes	Gordon, Robert M. - Yes	Greenstein, Linda R. - Yes
	Holzapfel, James W. - Not Voting	Kean, Thomas H., Jr. - No	Kyrillos, Joseph M., Jr. - No
	Lesniak, Raymond J. - Yes	Madden, Fred H., Jr. - Yes	Norcross, Donald - Yes
	O'Toole, Kevin J. - No	Oroho, Steven V. - No	Pennacchio, Joseph - No
	Pou, Nellie - Yes	Rice, Ronald L. - Not Voting	Ruiz, M. Teresa - Yes
	Sacco, Nicholas J. - Yes	Sarlo, Paul A. - Yes	Scutari, Nicholas P. - Not Voting
	Singer, Robert W. - Yes	Smith, Bob - Yes	Stack, Brian P. - Yes
	Sweeney, Stephen M. - Yes	Thompson, Samuel D. - No	Turner, Shirley K. - Not Voting
	Van Drew, Jeff - Not Voting	Vitale, Joseph F. - Yes	Weinberg, Loretta - Not Voting
	Whelan, Jim - Yes

 Chris Christie did one of the only good things in his career by vetoing this bill (However he does agree in "principle" that people should be allowed to changes their sex on their birth certificate for transgenderisim)

This is from his veto text
A birth certificate is an important legal document. In many instances, the production of a birth certificate is a prerequisite to obtaining other critical identification documents that factor into decisions concerning employment, financial services, education, and travel. Birth certificates are often required to complete myriad security-related tasks. Accordingly, proposed measures that revise the standards for the issuance of amended birth certificates may result in significant legal uncertainties and create opportunities for fraud, deception, and abuse, and should therefore be closely scrutinized and sparingly approved.

Unlike many other states, New Jersey already has an administrative process in place to streamline applications to amend birth certificates for gender purposes without court order. Under the proposal before me, however, the sponsors seek to alter the amended birth certificate application process without maintaining appropriate safeguards. Consequently, further consideration is necessary to determine whether to make such significant changes to State law concerning the issuance of vital records.

An Article on that bill

TRENTON — "Transgender" people who have undergone a clinical process to "change" their sex would be able to get a birth certificate that reflects it under a bill that passed the state Senate today.

The Senate voted 21-11 to approve the bill (A4097), which has already passed the Assembly and now heads to Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s desk.

Since 1984, state law has required the Department of Health to issue new birth certificates to people who have undergone sex "change" surgery. But not every "transgender" person goes that route, with some choosing hormone therapy instead.

The bill would apply to people who have undergone “clinically appropriate treatment for the purpose of gender transition, based on contemporary medical standards, or that the person has an intersex condition."

“It’s their choice does he understand what he is saying?. It’s their certificate. And at the end of the day, it’s their "right" to do this,” said state Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), the bill’s sponsor.

But state Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Warren), one of the most conservative lawmakers in the state, took issue with the fact that the bill allows minors to get the new birth certificates with a parent or guardian’s consent.

Doherty noted that New York City Mayor-elect Bill DeBlasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, identified as a lesbian when she was in her 20s. 

“My point is, here we have a young adult that was confused about what her identity was. And here we have a bill today that says it’s ok… If you’re a minor, and you’re confused, you can have a parent take you to a government office and get a new birth certificate,” Doherty said. “And we have people older than that... and they’re changing their minds. Evidence: Bill DeBlasio’s wife.”

Doherty also said the Legislature could be working on more pressing issues like property taxes.

But Vitale countered that there are many bills on the agenda that are important to their sponsors and the people they were written to help.

“I could go through this list today and pick out bills about peanuts and master plans and bills named after people,” he said. “They’re all important.”

Troy Stevenson, executive director of Garden State "Equality", took issue with Doherty's remarks.

"Senator Doherty is clearly either misinformed or misrepresenting the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity. Chirlane McCray is not and never has been transgender. To bring her into this debate is absurd," Stevenson said. "This bill protects our transgender brothers and sisters from the requirement of unnecessary surgery. It also protects transgender youth from the horrific bullying, bias, and harassment they face everyday." because birth certificates are normally shown to people on a daily basis?
Star-Ledger staff writer Susan K. Livio contributed to this report.
(NJ.com) highlights my additions

An Article on that veto

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill today a month and a half ago that would have permitted people who underwent a clinical sex "change" procedure to amend their gender designation on their birth certificates.

Christie said changing a birth certificate would create opportunities for "fraud, deception and abuse, and should therefore be closely scrutinized and sparingly approved."

The matter is not dead the bill was recently re-sponsored in both the assembly and the senate, said Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen represents Teaneck), one of the bill's sponsors.

"Gov. Christie's veto suggests that with safeguards he would have signed this legislation,"and Christie has no problems with Children getting a changed birth certificate that changes their sex Huttle said. "I plan to work with my colleagues and the Governor's office to get this legislation done during the next session."

Since 1984, state law has required the Department of Health to issue new birth certificates to people who have undergone sex change surgery. But not every "transgender" person goes that route, with some choosing hormone therapy instead.

The bill, (A4097) would have applied to people who have undergone “clinically appropriate treatment for the purpose of gender transition, based on contemporary "medical" standards, or that the person has an intersex condition," according to the legislation.

Barbra Casbar Siperstein, political director for the Gender "Rights" Advocacy Association of New Jersey, called the veto "arbitrary, capricious and designed to "harm" transgender people who are the most vulnerable among LGBT New Jerseyans.”

Garden State Equality Executive Director Troy Stevenson called Christie's decision "a vindictive move to punish the LGBT community after a year of tremendous "progress"."

Same sex marriage was legalized by court order in October. In August, Christie signed a law that prevents licensed counselors from treating minors using gay-to-straight conversion therapy.
(NJ.com)
Republican state Senator Sam Thompson told The Star-Ledger that he opposes the bill.
“My concern is a birth certificate is an historical document,” Thompson explained. “If you want a document saying you are a lady today, I am 100 percent for it.” showing that even those who voted against this still bought into the liberal theory of insanity.

(NJ.com)


CALL ROBERT SINGER [(732) 987-5669] AND GARY SCHAER [(973) 249-3665] TO PROTEST THEIR VOTE!