Yesterday, a bill was introduced into the California legislature that would seal the gender transition records of transgender and nonbinary adults, affording them the same protections given to minors.
“The incoming Trump administration and Republican congressional leadership have made clear that targeting and erasing trans people is among their highest policy priorities, and California must have our trans community members’ backs,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener in a press statement. “Making this personal identifying information public after someone transitions, including a person’s deadname, as well as the basic fact that they’re trans or nonbinary, pointlessly exposes trans and nonbinary Californians to harassment and potential violence.”
The bill, named Senate Bill 59, “automatically makes confidential any court record regarding a person’s legal change of name & gender marker.”
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Hazel Williams, a trans homeless rights activist based in San Francisco, said to The Bay Area Reporter, “When I learned I was unable to change my name in California without being forcibly outed online and exposed to harassment I was appalled.”
“I’m proud to help rally community members and advocacy organizations to fix this. There are 220,000 transgender and nonbinary adults in California. All of us deserve privacy and safety and this legislation is a vital step in that direction.”
“Having accurate identity documents is critical to allowing transgender people to live safely and openly as their authentic selves,” Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang said in a press statement given to The San Francisco Standard.
“As the incoming Trump administration prepares to wage unprecedented attacks on the transgender community, California must do everything it can to protect the safety and well-being of transgender people.”
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