Although the Reuters article describes the bill as a "OK for LGB, bad for trans", an article from LGBTQ nation takes a far more negative view of the bill (I'm not gonna pretend I have any idea...
Lawmakers in Puerto Rico this week approved a new set of civil laws that enshrine rights for LGBT+ people, even as opponents say gaps in the code could fuel discrimination toward trans people in the U.S. territory.
The updated civil code, which covers non-criminal legal issues like marriage and property, passed the island’s House of Representatives on Thursday after clearing the Senate on Monday and will now head to the desk of Governor Wanda Vazquez.
The old Puerto Rican laws contained anti-LBGT+ rights language, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “What is being done is updating,” he said.
Among the changes are updates on marriage, which is described as a contract between “two people” rather than a man and a woman, reflecting the 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.
But legal experts and opposition lawmakers said ambiguous and contradictory wording in the code could create legal hurdles for trans people.
“On its face it seems as if there’s nothing wrong, but if you scratch the surface, there’s an obvious intent to discriminate,” said Rafael Cox Alomar, a law professor at the University of the District of Columbia.
The updated code states that nothing “undermines the process currently established” for legally changing a person’s gender, but amendments to a person’s birth sex on original birth certificates “cannot be authorized”.
Although the Reuters article describes the bill as a "OK for LGB, bad for trans", an article from LGBTQ nation takes a far more negative view of the bill (I'm not gonna pretend I have any idea which side to pick, although the latter article is longer and more detailed)
Legislators in Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives and the Senate rushed through changes in the 600-page Civil Code, reportedly approving “controversial amendments” in “less than 10 minutes” without any debate. Even now, the changes aren’t publicly available for citizens to review.
Now, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), singer and rapper Bad Bunny, and gay Latinx pop star Ricky Martin are asking Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced not to sign the changes into law without first ensuring that they don’t erode existing LGBTQ civil liberties.
Among the reported changes is a mark on transgender people’s government-issued identification cards which will effectively out trans people rather than just listing their correct gender. A judge will also have to approve such changes to an ID in addition to already requiring a doctor’s approval.
The wording around marriage will reportedly refer to “natural persons,” a vague term that could be used to exclude LGBTQ people. It’s also said that the new civil code will deny couples, LGBTQ or straight, currently available government funding for child surrogacy.
The bill also reportedly includes changes to abortion rights and elections which could affect thousands across the island. In response, more than 93,000 have signed a Change.org petition against the new civil code.
Although the Reuters article describes the bill as a "OK for LGB, bad for trans", an article from LGBTQ nation takes a far more negative view of the bill (I'm not gonna pretend I have any idea which side to pick, although the latter article is longer and more detailed)
Which implies this bill is goddamn horrible.