Now that Virginia is a leftist stronghold, lawmakers in the state are producing progressive bill proposals at a rapid pace. While they are going after Virginians’ right to bear arms among other far-left goals, Democrats are also hyper-focused on the LGBT agenda and passing bills to cater to this small fraction of the population, namely, those who identify as transgender.
Earlier this week, the state Senate passed a bill that would allow for transgender individuals who have to obtain a new birth certificate reflecting the gender they identify with. Naturally, those within the LGBT community are thrilled with the new bill and say it will help eliminate problems they apparently experience when their legal identification does not match their gender identity.
The Washington Times reports:
Senate Bill 657 would allow a person to receive a new birth certificate to reflect a change of sex, without the requirement of surgery. The individual seeking a new birth certificate also may list a new name if they provide a certified copy of a court order of the name change.
“I just think it’s important to try to make life easier for people without being discriminated (against) or bullied,” said Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax. “Allowing an individual who is transgender to change their birth certificate without having to go through the full surgery allows them to live the life that they are due to have.”
The bill requires proof from a health care provider that the individual went through “clinically appropriate treatment for gender transition.” The assessment and treatment, according to Boysko’s office, is up to the medical provider. There is not a specific standard approach for an individual’s transition. Treatment could include any of the following: counseling, hormone therapy, sex reassignment surgery, or a patient-specific approach from the medical provider.
A similar process is required to obtain a passport after change of sex, according to the State Department.
Boysko claims that her constituents have had issues when they are required to produce legal documents in situations such as opening a bank account, applying for a job, or leasing an apartment. One wonders why a birth certificate somehow the missing link that is needed to fully validate their identity when their DNA does not.
As The Washington Times reports, this is the third year Boysko has introduced the bill but in previous years it never made it out of subcommittees. Now that the state legislature has been completely overtaken by Democrats, however, it seems the bill most likely has much better chances of making it to the Governor’s desk this time.
“I believe that we have a more open and accepting General Assembly then we’ve had in the past, where people are more comfortable working with the LGBTQ community and have expressed more of an interest in addressing some of these long overdue changes,” Boysko stated.
Vee Lamneck, executive director of Equality Virginia, a group that advocates for LGBTQ equality, said the organization is “really pleased that this bill is moving through.”
“This bill is really important for the transgender community,” Lamneck said then went on to reiterate the alleged plight of transgender individuals, “Right now many transgendered people do not have identity documents … this is really problematic when people apply for jobs or try to open a bank account.” This is a false statement, however, because all transgender American citizens have legal documents, they are just don’t conform to the transgender ideology.
This bill is not uncommon around the United States as Virginia will become the 23rd state to adopt such legislation should it be made into law. This isn’t the only transgender-related bill proposal to be approved by the Senate this week, either. They also passed a bill, also introduced by Boysko, which requires the Department of Education to “develop policies concerning the treatment of transgender students in public elementary and secondary schools, along with a bill outlawing conversion therapy with any person under 18 years of age.”
How discouraging to see Virginia’s Senate passing bills that put young, vulnerable children at risk and encourage them in a misleading and harmful ideology, especially when other state legislatures are making it a priority to protect children. The “Sic semper tyrannis” state is going in the wrong direction and it’s up to the state’s voters to reverse course.
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