Celebration and Statement after Governor Brown's Signs SB 179 – The Gender Recognition Act

October 16, 2017

San Francisco –  Today Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) will join advocates of a series of bills that expanded the rights of LGBT people in California. These includes SB 179, the Gender Recognition Act, which Governor Brown signed last night, as well as SB 219, the LGBT Senior Bill of Rights, and SB 239, which modernizes HIV criminalization laws.

Senator Wiener and Senator Atkins will join supporters of all three bills at the San Francisco LGBT Center today at 5:30pm. Both Senator Wiener and Atkins will speak, as will the advocates who worked to pass the bills. Details below.

Last night Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 179, which Senator Wiener authored along with Senator Atkins. The Gender Recognition Act, makes California the second state in the nation – following Oregon – to allow residents to be identified by a gender marker other than “F” or “M” on their driver’s license and the first to allow a third gender marker on birth certificates. It also makes it easier for residents to receive a gender change from state agencies and the courts. For example, it removes the outdated requirement that applicants obtain a physician’s letter stating that they have undergone appropriate medical treatment and replaces it with self-attestation

Senator Wiener offered the following statement on the signing of SB 179:

“With the passage of SB 179, California continues its fight for a more inclusive society, even as some in Washington continue to try to take away rights from LGBT people. With Governor Brown’s signature on this bill, transgender and non-binary people will now be able to identify themselves as they are, not as who society tells them they should be. I am proud to have partnered with Senator Atkins to pass the Gender Recognition Act, and I look forward to continuing our fight for LGBT equality.”

Celebration Details

WHO:             Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)

                        Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego)

                        Equality California

                        Transgender Law Center

                        Intersex and Gender Recognition Project

                        Positive Women’s Network- USA 

WHEN:           Monday, October 16, 5:30 PM

WHERE:         San Francisco LGBT Center

                       1800 Market Street, San Francisco

WHAT:           A celebration of the passage of a series of bills that expand the rights of LGBT people.  These include SB 179, the Gender Recognition Act, SB 219, the LGBT Senior Bill of Rights, and SB 239, which modernizes HIV criminalization laws. 

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