Trump Administration Plans To Change The Definition Of 'Transgender'
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — Bay Area activists are blasting the Trump Administration's plan to reportedly change the definition of the word "transgender."
The New York Times obtained a leaked memo draft that detailed plans which could put the legal protections and federal recognition of 1.4 million Americans identifying as transgender at risk.
"Sex means a person's status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth," read the memo.
The memo went on to say, "The sex listed on a person's birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person's sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence."
The proposition would roll back Obama-era administration policies which allow people to choose how they identify.
It could also exclude the transgender population from civil rights protections. Current law protects transgender people from discrimination under Title 7 and Title 9.
"If they actually begin to implement, the impact on transgender people would be devastating in terms of our ability to just live our lives–to work, to go to school, to get healthcare," explained Kris Hayashi, the Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center.
The Transgender Law Center, an Oakland-based non-profit, is the largest organization of its kind in the country.
"I was born a girl, but I've always known myself to be a man. That is how I live my life. I absolutely know that I exist and my community exists and that we have always existed. And this is one attack and there have been so many, and we will continue to fight," said Hayashi.
State Senator Scott Weiner released a statement Sunday evening. In it, he said, "More trans children will commit suicide. More trans people will be assaulted and murdered. Trans people will be less healthy and less visible. Trump wants us to be invisible–to go away. We won't go away."
On Sunday night, many transgender people took to social media to share their thoughts on the proposed changes. Some posted pictures of themselves with the hashtag #WontBeErased.