

State Rep. Mickey Gates (R-Hot Springs) has introduced legislation that would make it impossible for individuals to change the sex listed on their birth certificate. It’s aimed at transgender people.

Currently, state law explicitly allows for the sex listed on a person’s birth certificate to be amended by court order. House Bill 1894 would strike that statute.


It also states that “the biological sex of an individual shall be determined at the time of birth based on the genetic code of an individual at birth” and that “the biological sex listed on a birth certificate shall not be amended.”

What about intersex people? Gates’ bill says such individuals must pick a sex by their fifth birthday and stick with it. “For an individual with a genetic disorder or medical condition at the time of birth that makes biological sex difficult to determine, listing of the biological sex of the individual may be delayed up to the fifth birthday of the individual.”


Republican Reps. Robin Lundstrum, Kim Hendren, Bob Ballinger, John Payton, David Meeks and Ron McNair are listed as co-sponsors.