Rights of Transgender People as of 2004

Antidiscrimination:
-In 1993, Minnesota becomes the first state to enact an antidiscrimination statute that prohibits discrimination against transgendered and transsexual individuals in the areas of employment, housing, education, and public accommodation.  Rhode Island, New Mexico, California, and Kentucky have also passed similar legislation prohibiting employment discrimination in the decade afterward.

Hate Crimes:
-There are laws prohibiting hate crimes in seven states: MN, CA, HI, NM, MO, PA, and VT.

Sex discrimination:
-Up till the late 1990s, all federal courts held that transsexual people are not protected under Title VII’s prohibition of sex discrimination. Several federal courts have repudiated this decision.

Disability:
-Transsexual people are not protected under federal laws that prohibit disability discrimination on the basis of disability or handicap.  Transsexualism is considered a “gender identity disorder” and psychiatric disorder; however, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act excludes transsexuals from its protection. (1)

Education:
-Only a handful of states have explicit laws protecting transgender students from discrimination and harassment.  Other states have implicit protection under Title IX of the Education Amendment Acts which prohibits discrimination based on sex and gender-based harassment.

Restroom:
-In a jurisdiction that protects transgendered people, a transgendered individual has the right to use the restroom consistent with his or her gender identity.

Cross-dressing:
-Though most cross-dressing statutes have been repealed, a transgendered person can still be arrested for cross-dressing in certain places. 

Name Revision:
-In most states, transgendered individuals are allowed to change their names under the common-law name change or the court-ordered name change.

Birth Certificate:
-Most states allow transgendered persons who have undergone sex-reassignment surgery to amend their birth certificate and indicate their new sex.

Sex change:
-What constitutes a legal change of sex is still unclear, yet in most states one has to undergo SRS to change his or her sex indicated on his or her birth certificate.  However, a court can still deem one to be the sex at one’s birth for purposes of determining the validity of one’s marriage.

Marriage nuptials:
-If both spouses still want to remain together even though one is undergoing SRS, they can avoid legal problems.  Legal problems arise in claims to inheritance, tax benefits that are restricted to married couples, and employer-provided health plans for the employee's family members.

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Resources

(1) Hunter, N.D, Joslin, C.G., McGowan, S.M. (2004) The Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexual, and Transgender People: The authoritative ACLU guide to a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender person’s rights. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

See also:

• Transgender Law and Policy Institute
• Shannon Minter, Transgendered Persons and Marriage: The Importance of Legal Planning in PDF, Legal Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights. Also available from NCLR, 870 Market Street, Suite 570, San Francisco, CA 94102, 415-392-6257, nclrights@nclrights.org.(January 2004)