By Annelise Hanshaw
(Photo- State Sen. Mike Cierpiot, a Lee's Summit Republican, stands at his desk in the Missouri Senate chamber. Cierpiot filed legislation this year seeking to bar transgender Missourians from changing their sex on their birth certificates- Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).
The bill’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Mike Cierpiot of Lee’s Summit, said birth certificates reflect “facts on the day you were born” and should be unchangeable except in cases of sex development disorders.
Cierpiot filed the same bill in 2023, but it was never debated by the full Senate. He did not file the bill last year.
The bill was inspired, he said, by a lawsuit in his district where a transgender student sued the Blue Springs School District in 2015 after being barred from locker rooms and multi-stall bathrooms. A jury awarded the student $4 million, but the case was appealed and is currently awaiting a Missouri Supreme Court opinion.
“The reason this (bill) is needed is because some courts are making decisions partly because of modified birth certificates,” Cierpiot said.
State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, mentioned that some transgender Missourians have changed their gender marker on their driver’s license. The Department of Revenue recently rescinded that policy after pressure from lawmakers.
Cierpiot said he was less worried about driver’s licenses.
“A birth certificate is a historic document,” he said. “If someone wants to change things later in life, this is quiet on that.”
A Senate committee room was full of people waiting to testify on the bill, but the public hearing was cut short after 30 minutes with three speaking in favor and four able to speak in opposition before the committee chair moved to the next bill.
Sharon Dunski Vermont, a pediatrician from the St. Louis area, told committee members that the bill is dangerous for transgender people.
“People have been attacked, bullied and even killed because their documents don’t reflect who they see themselves to be,” she said.
Brattin asked Vermont about the Washington University Transgender Center, which was the subject of a whistleblower’s affidavit in 2023 and closed after state law made gender-affirming care illegal for minors.
Brattin criticized the center, calling treatments “detrimental to (children’s) health.”
Dunski Vermont, who worked there, said the allegations were untrue.
“I don’t tell you how to be a senator, and I would appreciate if you don’t tell me how to be a doctor,” she said, as Brattin interrupted.
Keith Rose, who is a legal advocate with nonprofit law firm Center for Growing Justice, said he has assisted people changing their birth certificates as part of his work.
He called birth certificates “living documents,” instead of historic.
“It is common sense that birth records should reflect your lived reality,” he said.
Few judges are willing to issue court orders to change birth certificates, Rose said, and it has grown more difficult in the past three years.
The committee did not take action on the bill Wednesday.
11 comments:
Again, You were either Born a Male or Female, (Only 2-Biological Genders you cannot change that)! If you want to change your Name - Fine, you want to Dress, Talk, Act like Woman, have Sexual Conversion Surgery Fine - But, You shouldn't be allowed to Change / Lie on Official Government / State Documents - This is more of the Woke, DEI, CRT, Pronoun Shaming - Crap, because a Very Small Minority - Wants to Push their Agenda - If you Feel that your Birth Certificate (a Piece of Paper that is Factual about Your Birth Gender will Ruin Your Life) - You probably need to get Counseling -
The bill was inspired, he said, by a lawsuit in his district where a transgender student sued the Blue Springs School District in 2015 after being barred from locker rooms and multi-stall bathrooms. A jury awarded the student $4 million, (STUPID JURY), but the case was appealed and is currently awaiting a Missouri Supreme Court opinion. This is a CROOK OF 💩💩💩 - What about the Rights of the Girls - The Real Girls, Not Pretend Girls - Why should they have to be Traumatized because a Few People - Want everyone Else's Rights Taken Away - and Why should Girls be Forced to Share Restrooms, Lockers, and Sports - Because these He/She/Her/Him/They/Whatever - Think their Rights - Supersedes Everyone Elses - Plus - if they want a Particular Pronoun Name - Wear a DAMN - Lable / Name Tag -
“Here’s what we have to say to all of America’s men and women falling in the grips of hatred and white supremacy: Come back It’s not too late. You have neighbors and loved ones waiting, holding space for you. And we will love you back.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on twitter
5:41, It is of no concern to you if someone wants to be called Robert, Rob, or Roberta.
It literally takes zero energy for you to respect people. Nobody is trying to force you to change genders, so sit back, shut up, and let people be themselves.
Also, zero rights are being taken away. Unless you believe Trump's threats on the first and second ammendments., and you should.
Finally, look into that Blue Springs case, some staff "suspected he had female genitalia". That is 100% illegal discrimination. It's also a harmful rumor for supposed educators to be spreading.
As we can all obviously see, it's much easier to be born stupid and then stay there. In fact, this segment of the population in this country is tenfold more of a threat than the biological birth of individuals born gender divergent. Sadly, there will be individuals who will respond to this post having no intellectual understanding of gender diversity, nor do they have the ambition to learn the true realities of life on earth. Ignorance is truly a diabolical disease.
"The bill was inspired, he said,"
What if I don't believe this?
How convenient.
This comes out smelling just as bad as what Anita Bryant, Ted Haggard, Jim Bakkker and Jerry Falwell have been peddling for decades!
What are these peoples family trees going to look like? What a joke. If you have to “claim” your gender then you are not what you “claim”. Birth certificates need to remain unchanged. It is a certificate of birth and what the individual was born as not what they chose to “claim” they were later in life.
I fail to see how any of this would be 8:39s business.
Oh yeah, it's not. Let people be happy. It 100% has absolutely ZERO impact on your life.
Only a fool would disagree with common sense. You are what you are when born everything else is fairytales. It won’t be long they will want to identify as animals and change their birth certificate, what a delusional way to live
Go to school 1230 and learn some basic truths in life. Your narrow insight and short-sightedness limits your ability to be happy. If you don't understand, go ask an lgbtq person if they're happy (excluding magat politics of course) and learn a valuable lesson.
2:01 your kind is so scared of facts you tell me I’m narrow minded and short sided from stating actual facts, don’t gas light. You all let feelings get in the way of facts that’s your problem, and you cry like babies when the normal people don’t agree with you. The alphabet club is pretty happy until it dawns on them they have been lied.
715, which appears to be 1230 as well, has not provided a single fact, despite their claims. Are you in fact Donald Trump? Or just one of his little cultists?
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