Trans people in Ireland will soon be able to self-declare to change their birth

[traci_k]

Trans people in Ireland will soon be able to self-declare to change their birth certificate gender

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/06/04/trans-people-in-ireland-will-soon-be-able-to-self-declare-to-change-their-birth-certificate-gender/

On Pink News
     4th June 2015, 9:34 AM
    Last updated at 10:51 AM
    Joseph Patrick McCormick


A step forward has been made for trans people in Ireland, as soon those wishing to change their gender on their birth certificate will be able to do so without medical evidence.

The announcement was made yesterday by the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton and was welcomed by Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI).

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Ireland is on a roll, first recognizing same sex marriage, now easing the policy to correct birth certificates for correct gender.

[suzifrommd]

I have a pending commentary about this on Susans.org.

This is good news, but the headline is highly inaccurate. The article refers only to a change in the language of a bill being considered. I do not believe the bill has been passed.

I'll post a link to the commentary as soon as it finishes winding its way through the publication process.

[suzifrommd]

Irish Transgender Rights Bill with Far-Reaching Impact

By Suzi Chase, 6/6/15

https://www.susans.org/2015/06/06/irish-transgender-rights-bill-far-reaching-impact/

No person should ever be allowed to tell another what his/her/their gender is.

Ever.

When speaking of the need for the new change, Lynn Boylan, an Irish politician puts it this way, according to a quote published in TheJournal.ie:

"The  Government's [original]Gender Equality Bill is an insult to Transgender people and should be amended to respect their dignity... A persons gender identity is a matter for each individual. Transgender people know their own identity. They don't need medical evaluation to prove their identity to anyone.Our community has put up with this humiliation too long. No human being should have to beg, persuade, or pay a doctor for permission to be himself/herself/themselves."

...

If this bill passes, Ireland can be held up as a model for how gender changes should happen.

[VeronicaLynn]

While this is good news, in the area of possible trend in public perception, I still think a better and easier solution is to just not have gender on any legal documents. I'm not saying this just because I'm non-binary, although as such, this wouldn't help me much. Seriously, why does it need to be there anyway?

[suzifrommd]

While this is good news, in the area of possible trend in public perception, I still think a better and easier solution is to just not have gender on any legal documents. I'm not saying this just because I'm non-binary, although as such, this wouldn't help me much. Seriously, why does it need to be there anyway?

I agree, Veronica, but I wouldn't want to impose my views on other people. If I were a law enforcement officer, and my life depended on being able to identify an armed and dangerous suspect quickly, I would want my dispatcher to be able to say whether it's a man or a woman. For 90+% of people, their gender is easily identifiable from their looks.

I'm willing to ask for an exception for the few of us, but I'm not willing to agitate to totally eliminate a system that causes no problem in the vast majority of cases.

[VeronicaLynn]

I agree, Veronica, but I wouldn't want to impose my views on other people. If I were a law enforcement officer, and my life depended on being able to identify an armed and dangerous suspect quickly, I would want my dispatcher to be able to say whether it's a man or a woman. For 90+% of people, their gender is easily identifiable from their looks.

I'm willing to ask for an exception for the few of us, but I'm not willing to agitate to totally eliminate a system that causes no problem in the vast majority of cases.

Very often is the identity of a suspect known, isn't it often just a "person of interest"? It seems they'd rather not make that assumption if it's not known.

I think the elimination of gender on documents makes more sense. If we can't just eliminate the documents completely, that would be even easier. The only reason these documents exist is to restrict people's rights anyway. Why should someone have to certify that they were born? It's pretty obvious they were.