Missing one vote, the New Jersey Senate failed last week to overturn the governor’s veto of a bill that would have allowed transgender residents to more easily amend the gender designation on their birth certificates.
Two Republicans — Diane Allen, who represents Burlington, and Kip Bateman, who represents Somerset — joined 24 Democrats Dec. 17 in voting to override the veto. The bill needed 27 votes.
It was withdrawn before being officially defeated, so legislators can bring it up again before the current session expires in January.
Allen co-sponsored the bill, which would have allowed the New Jersey registrar to issue an amended birth certificate to anyone born in the state who undergoes sex-reassignment surgery.
“I believe that every person deserves to be treated fairly, with dignity and equality,” Allen said in a statement to PGN. “There was really no other vote I could have cast.”
A licensed health-care provider would have to file a form that notes the person underwent a surgical procedure and “clinically appropriate treatment for the purpose of gender transition, based on contemporary medical standards, or that the person has an intersex condition,” the bill states.
The request to change a birth certificate could be submitted on behalf of a minor by that person’s parent or guardian. The new birth certificate would not be marked as an amended document.
In a veto message issued last year, Gov. Chris Christie said he wanted any measures to amend birth certificates to come with “safeguards to prevent against fraud, deception and abuse.”
“I remain committed to the principle that efforts to significantly alter … the issuance of vital records that have the potential to create legal uncertainties should be closely scrutinized and sparingly approved,” Christie continued.