Anti-trans bill by Elvis impersonating Indiana lawmaker killed
A bill from a Representative in the US state of Indiana to it virtually impossible for trans people to legally change their gender, has been killed by a Republican health committee chair.
Representative Bruce Borders introduced HB 1361 on Thursday which would only allow the sex on a birth certificate to be changed in certain situations.
Those allowed include a form being mis-written by an individual, a biological test showing that a Y chromosome was present despite being written down originally as female, or a biological test showing a lack of a Y chromosome despite being written down as male.
HB 1361 would have taken effect on 1 July 2017 if passed.
But Representative Cindy Kirchhofer, chair of the House Public Health Committee, on Friday said she would not give the bill a hearing.
Instead, Representative Kirchhofer said in a statement, the committee would focus on an opoid and heroin epidemic in the state.
“This was not a philosophically driven thing,” Borders had said. “I just respect accuracy in all legal records.”
Trans people in Indiana currently have to obtain a court order in order to legally change their gender.
Freedom Indiana’s campaign manager Chris Paulsen said of the bill: “This discriminatory bill is completely unnecessary… If passed, HB 1361 would further harm Indiana’s already damaged reputation as an open and welcoming state.”
According to the civil rights group, HB1361 also includes provisions which would create a permanent record of those who have changed genders which “could be used to target transgender individuals for discrimination and harassment.”
Check out a video of Bruce Borders as Elvis below:
Meanwhile, the Governor of Virginia has vowed to veto a harmful anti-LGBT ‘bathroom bill’ if it makes it to his desk.
The law ostensibly functions to ban transgender people from using public bathrooms in state-owned facilities, but the actual contents of the law are far more chilling.
One provision would force schools to notify the parents of any child who asks to be called by a different name or gender – even if the child is in the closet, or fears a violent reaction at home.
Texas might also be getting its own ‘bathroom bill’, as State Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said moves to introduce such a bill will be a priority in the new legislative session.