California must protect the privacy of transgender and non-binary people. Here’s how
Assembly Bill 218, introduced last month by Assemblyman Chris Ward, D-San Diego, would help protect the privacy rights of transgender and non-binary people.
AB 218 will make sure that people who seek to change their names on birth or marriage certificates don’t have to broadcast sensitive private information to the public.
The Bay Area Reporter summarized AB 218’s practical effect: “Under current procedures, a person seeking to legally change their name is required to file a petition with the superior court of the county where they reside as part of the process to update their marriage or birth records or the birth certificates of their children. They must also publish their current name and the new name they are requesting in a newspaper in that county at least once a week for four weeks.”
This bill will provide important protections for people who identify as a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth, and it will help shield transgender and non-binary people from discrimination.
Opinion
The right to privacy is central to the American experiment, and AB 218 guarantees privacy — period. This bill is important because, on some level, transgender and non-binary people live with a profound fear of prejudice, violence or death. Globally, 350 transgender individuals were murdered in 2020 as of Nov. 20, 2020, the international Transgender Day of Remembrance. Twenty-eight of the 350 murders occurred in the United States.
In addition, the fear of discovery, harassment in the workplace and discrimination by health care institutions is paramount in trans and non-binary lives. AB 218 addresses these most elemental fears, ones that the vast majority of Californians do not experience.
Most people live as they are. Some trans or non-binary people have to pretend they are something they are not. Many are transitioning and some are not, but all deserve to live freely and without legal impediment.
AB 218 rectifies an important element of life. The bill is a small but significant step in protecting rights already enjoyed by other California citizens.
Asm. Ward told the Bay Area Reporter he was “really happy to make sure we are cleaning up some of the technical issues to help our youth and anybody through their life spectrum so their public records are reflective of their true gender identity without question.”
AB 218 is a necessary step forward for the rights of transgender and non-binary people. It deserves the full support of the California State Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
