N406: Bessell-Wells Transgender Rights Act of 2017 - Signed

[Drew]

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Sponsor: Drew, on behalf of Mike Wells

72 hours to debate.

[Drew]

I support this bill, as it expands upon existing regional and federal provisions granting equality to all citizens, and this includes on the basis of gender identity.  I support allowing citizens to legally be classified as a gender other than male or female, as gender is ultimately a spectrum.  There are other nations, such as Germany, India, and Australia that already grant their citizens this right.  Additionally, some Native Atlasian tribes have always recognized and honored the 'two-spirit' individuals in their communities, and this bill would get government out of the way for them to do this on a legally-recognized basis.  And finally, some people are physiologically born with intersex conditions, and should not have to be forced into any binary option unless they themselves identify with such a designation.  I fell that this bill is well-written and goes into plenty of detail about how citizens can go about changing their gender marker, and also what the limitations are.

[Drew]

48 hours to vote.

[Drew]

Aye

[Drew]

With 4 Ayes, 0 Nays, and 1 absence, this bill is passed and is sent to the Governor.