A bill proposing significant changes to gender designations on documents used for basic identification was released from the House Health and Human Development Committee on Wednesday after a contentious hearing.
Sponsored by State Rep. Eric Morrison (D-Glasgow), House Bill 375 would create a new “unspecified gender” designation for government documents, including birth certificates, driver’s licenses, marriage licenses, and death certificates.
The proposal would allow “sex” or “gender” to be designated by an “F” for female, “M” for male, or “X” for unspecified.
Among the provisions in the measure are the following:
- Allow an individual to change their gender designation without a court order or certification from a medical or other service provider.
- Allow parents to amend their gender designations and names on their child’s birth certificate.
- Make it more difficult to determine a person’s name and gender at birth. For driver’s licenses and identification cards, information related to the change of gender, including previous photos and names on these documents, may only be released if the request is for a permissible use of personal information. Additionally, if the request is from another state, the requesting entity must meet a high legal threshold, demonstrating a legitimate public safety need for the data.
Sussex Pride Executive Director David Mariner was among several members of the public appearing before the committee to advocate for the legislation. “This bill streamlines the way our state recognizes identity…It prevents the involuntary outing of trans individuals in everyday situations, whether they are applying for a lease, seeking healthcare, or starting a new job. It ensures that an adult’s legal identity matches who they truly are.”
State Rep. Jeff Hilovsky (R-Long Neck, Oak Orchard), a retired Doctor of Optometry and a committee member, raised concerns that the bill would allow biological males identifying as female to alter their legal identities to gain legitimate access to exclusively female venues for illegitimate purposes.
Rep. Morrison responded, stating: “I don’t appreciate your inferring this completely ridiculous narrative of individuals changing their genders to go do nefarious things and invade women’s locker rooms and sports teams and such. That’s insulting to a lot of people here in this chamber and to a lot of people listening right now.”
Despite the bill winning release from the committee, Rep. Morrison continued the argument the next morning on social media, posting the following message on his Facebook page:
According to an analysis by the Office of the Controller General, HB 375 would carry a one-time cost of approximately $163,000 to develop and implement system changes to the Electronic Vital Records System, including updates to the birth, death, marriage, and divorce modules.
Due to the expense topping $100,000, the bill has been reassigned to the House Appropriations Committee for further review.
