An important victory in the fight for LGBT equality in Pennsylvania was won this week — and the lack of pushback around it is another cause for celebration.
Per a settlement stemming from a lawsuit by two transgender individuals, the state has dropped its requirement that gender-confirmation surgery is required for one to change the gender marker on a birth certificate. Now, people looking to change the gender must produce just documentation from a physician that they’re undergoing a transition, $20 and valid identification.
In the past, countless transgender individuals were barred from obtaining an accurate birth certificate because lack of health care, finances or other impediments prevented them from undergoing surgery. Without such documentation, they not only lacked legal recognition of their accurate identity but inconsistent documentation also presented logistical problems with employment, housing or even travel.
That this development came with support from the state is important. Several years ago, this settlement may not have been possible under a Republican governor, but this decision was reached with the backing of the governor and state Department of Health. The administration rightfully regarded the decision as a common-sense approach, yet it’s one that will positively impact transgender Pennsylvanians in all corners of the state. The lack of pushback points to the vital need to elect forward-thinking leaders who can make progress a reality.
However, this was just one battle in the larger effort to ensure LGBT equality in the Keystone State. Pennsylvania remains the only state in the Northeast to lack basic nondiscrimination protections for the LGBT community. The analogy was made when marriage equality became legal that same-sex couples in Pennsylvania could get married on the weekend and fired on Monday. Likewise, this latest victory for trans equality could mean a person takes a few hours off work to update his or her birth certificate and is then fired upon returning to work. Each battle we win solidifies the need for overarching nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people.
The time was long overdue for the birth-certificate rule to be changed, and it is just as long past for the state to protect its LGBT citizens from discrimination.