Trans

Strict Voter ID Laws Impose Added Costs for Transgender Voters

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Transgender Voting Rights

Transgender people may experience barriers to voting at the polls in states with strict voter identification laws if there are inconsistencies between their ID, voter registration information, and appearance, according to a new report by Taylor N.T. Brown, Policy Analyst, and Jody Herman, Scholar of Public Policy, from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

To help ensure the ability to vote on a regular ballot at the polls, transgender people who have transitioned to live in a gender different from their sex assigned at birth must update their gender marker and photo on their photo ID. However, these updates cost time and money, and transgender people uniquely bear the costs.

The study, “Voter ID Laws and Their Added Costs for Transgender Voters,” examined the additional costs of strict voter ID laws for transgender people in 10 states and described the procedures transgender people must follow to update their photo ID to help ensure their ability to vote on a regular ballot at the polls.

“These strict photo ID laws are onerous burdens for many  groups of individuals who may not have acceptable photo identification,” Brown said. “Yet, there are additional costs and burdens of these strict laws that specifically impact transgender people’s ability to vote at the polls.”

Key findings from the report include:

• Fees associated with updating photo ID with a change of gender can range from $8 to $358. There are additional costs connected with obtaining court orders, proof of identity and citizenship, documentation of medical treatment, and other required documents.

• Some states only allow individuals to update their IDs after receiving transition-related surgery, regardless of whether they need any surgery as part of their transition.

• Among transgender people who have transitioned from their sex assigned at birth, an estimated 27 percent have not updated any ID to accurately reflect their gender.

Click here for the full report.

Transgender Voting RIghts

LGBT Healthcare Bill of Rights

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Bill of Rights

At the 2011 National Coalition for LGBT Health Meeting, LGBT HealthLink’s Director, Dr. Scout, concluded a presentation by suggesting our communities really needed to create a healthcare bill of rights. The response from the experts in attendance was overwhelming; dozens of experts chimed in to concur. In the years since, our healthcare rights have only expanded yet public understanding about those rights – which is critical to their effectiveness – has not kept pace. For example, very few people know that any hospital accredited by the Joint Commission must now have an LGBT nondiscrimination policy. Or that health insurers in the new marketplaces cannot discriminate either. Making this problem worse, even healthcare institutions are not fully educated about these changes. Most hospitals that were approached by PROMO, the LGBT equality organization for Missouri, could show no evidence of having an LGBT nondiscrimination policy in place. We have many new rights, and now more than ever we need to understand what they are to get the healthcare we deserve.

In 2014, LGBT HealthLink partnered with PROMO Missouri and lawyer Corey Prachniak from Washington DC to create a short document summarizing our rights in the healthcare world now. A few of these rights are aspirational, they have protections in most cases but not a blanket ruling protecting all cases. We have included them because we feel we need to outline the moral rights as well as those which already enjoy full legal protection. After working closely with healthcare policymakers for years, we know the intent is to treat us with full equality and fairness. Outright hostility or chilly climates around LGBT people no longer have a place in health care. We know discrimination is a major reason LGBT people experience profound health disparities now; it needs to be part of our past.

The first step is to be educated about our rights and stand up when they are not met.

Learn more at: www.healthcarebillofrights.org

Transgender Day of Remembrance

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Transgender Day of Remembrance

The Transgender Day of Remembrance takes place every year on November 20th.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved.

Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender — that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant — each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people.
We live in times more sensitive than ever to hatred based violence, especially since the events of September 11th. Yet even now, the deaths of those based on anti-transgender hatred or prejudice are largely ignored. Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives. This trend shows no sign of abating.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred. Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgender people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers. Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of us who’ve died by anti-transgender violence.