Stephanie Wang

stephanie.wang@indystar.com

After outcry from transgender advocates, an Indiana Republican lawmaker quashed a proposal to prevent people from being able to change the gender on their birth certificates.

Rep. Cindy Kirchhofer, R-Beech Grove, chair of the House Public Health Committee, said in a statement Friday that she will not give the bill a hearing. She said she was focused instead on addressing the state's opioid and heroin epidemic.

The proposal was considered by transgender advocates to be a "mean-spirited" jab that would raise privacy and safety concerns for transgender people by interfering with obtaining identification that accurately reflects their gender identity.

The proposal also denied "the very existence of transgender people," Freedom Indiana wrote in a news release, explaining that it would keep their birth certificates from matching "the identity they live as and the person they have always known themselves to be."

Bill author Rep. Bruce Borders, R-Jasonville, said he did not intend to create controversy with the proposal.

"This was not a philosophically driven thing," he said. "I just respect accuracy in all legal records."

He said his bill would not affect a person's ability to change other identifying documents, such as an Indiana driver's license. It would allow for birth certificate corrections in the cases of clerical errors or after chromosomal testing. He declined to speak further about his stance on transgender rights.

Last year, Borders opposed a bill to extend civil rights protections to people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, citing in part concerns about infringing upon religious beliefs. He also said he found the language on gender identity to be "problematic." He said he had concerns about laws that allow people to be what he considered "fluid" with their gender.

"I don't see how or why someone changing their gender marker affects anyone else," said Chris Paulsen, Freedom Indiana's campaign manager. "As far as I'm concerned, it's just a mean-spirited bill that will make Indiana seem less welcoming once again."

Having a birth certificate that doesn't match other documents can "out" a person as transgender, said Theo Ciccarelli Cornetta, staff attorney for the Low-Income LGBT Project at Indiana Legal Services. That can violate privacy, Ciccarelli Cornetta said, and put the person at risk of being a victim of violence. Transgender people experience high rates of violence against them, particularly through hate crimes.

Maintaining documents with names and gender markers that reflect people's gender identities also can affect access to employment, education and the community, Ciccarelli Cornetta said.

Amending gender on a birth certificate requires a court order, a process that attorneys say can be lengthy and costly. A birth certificate can be used to amend other types of documents, but is not currently necessary, said Indianapolis attorney Barbara J. Baird.

For example, a statement from a licensed physician can be used to amend gender on Social Security, a passport or an Indiana driver's license, Baird said.

However, those processes are set internally by their oversight agencies, so policies can change, Baird added.

Call IndyStar reporter Stephanie Wang at (317) 444-6184. Follow her on Twitter: @stephaniewang.