During hearings on February 7 in the Michigan House Judiciary Committee, members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies discussed the extra challenges and humiliations a person must endure in order to change their name in Michigan.
The proposed legislation for the council would make it easier for people to choose the sex symbol they believe is ideal for them on their birth certificate and driver’s license, as well as reduce some of the restrictions placed on Michiganders who change their names outside of marriage.
Committee members were informed by transgender advocate Lilianna-Angel Reyes that “the laws have not always been great to my community or myself.”
Reyes stated that she has worked to offer solutions to transgender Michiganders between the ages of 14 and 80 across numerous counties as the executive producer of the Trans Sistas of Color Project and the Ruth Ellis Center’s health equity and referral director. When some of those people needed a lawyer to have their identification documents changed, Reyes claimed that hiring one has cost anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000.
All a newlywed person needs to do to modify any part of their name on their driver’s license or state ID is to acquire an official version of it, notify the Social Security company to get reissues of the social security card, and bring the necessary identification documents to their local Secretary of State unit business. The procedure usually costs less than $50.
However, a person who wants their name changed for any other purpose must appear in a Michigan court.
A name change petition must be submitted by the person in the county where they have lived for more than a year, and it costs about $175 to do so. This is just the beginning of what advocates of the proposed policy refer to as a broken system that harms some people while benefiting no one.
Emme Zanotti, director of advocacy and political engagement at Equality Michigan, drew attention to the petition’s requirement that a “purpose demonstrating sufficient justification for the proposed change and that the change is not sought with fraudulent intent” be stated in writing.
“That’s not how I learned our justice system to be,” according to Zanotti, “when you presume fraudulent intent or deceit unless we can prove otherwise.” “Those aren’t just laws, either.” I know that.
If someone requests a name change, there is an involuntary notion of deceit of attempting fraud if they have any criminal history. To disprove that notion in court, plaintiffs must present evidence, which frequently necessitates the assistance of legal counsel.
Two complete sets of fingerprints must be taken at the local police station for a name change petitioner who is 22 years of age or older. This process costs about $40. The state police department reviews the necessary supplies, including the fingerprints, before the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Then, petitioners for a name change must publish notice of the court proceeding to change their name for about $100 in general, noting the person’s current name, the name they are petitioning for, and details about the proceeding in case they wish to contest the change.
Mikah Rector-Browns, a transgender person, spent $500 on the name change, and it took three months to complete the “discriminatory” process.
“In order for people who disagreed with my desire and desire to live by a name that I identify as to go to court and challenge the prosecutor about it, Rector-Browns said,” I had to out myself in my local newspapers, putting my name, my chosen name.
According to bill sponsor state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia), there is no evidence that the current name change system guards against the fraud it assumes of people. On the contrary, people seeking a name change outside of relationship or marriage is “outdated” and “unfair” under the existing rules.
According to Pohutsky, changing one’s name outside of those situations is difficult, expensive, and confusing to the point where doing so can occasionally be prohibitive. “There are many reasons why someone might want to change their name outside of those two activities, not just wanting to align your name with your gender identity or running from a domestic abuse or human trafficking situation.
If passed, HB 5300 may enable the prosecutor to review a name change without having to appear in court. The judge is required to not get publication if the person seeking a name change has demonstrated good cause to believe that publishing the hearing may harm them.
Additionally, HB 5300 would end the involuntary notion of fraud for people with criminal histories who petition for a name change. Additionally, fingerprinting may get eliminated.
Reyes, who underwent a solo transition at the age of 17, claimed to have assisted 500 people in metro Detroit—some of whom had been expelled from their
homes as young teenagers and had experienced homelessness—in changing their names or sex signs.
According to Reyes, “Those gender-specific and name changes enabled them to move past their earlier traumas, live honestly, find jobs, and become the people they want to be.” “We’ve observed what transpires when individuals are allowed to change their name and gender symbol. I received a master’s degree from the University of Michigan at the age of 19, changed my name, and am now assisting… individuals.
Gina Johnsen, a representative from Odessa Twp. questioned whether someone could “really change their natural sex,” among other things.
“Where does it end, exactly?” Johnson said, “I can’t really change that because, let’s say, I want to be six inches taller.”
Yet when discussing unrelated subjects like child marriage, Michigan’s Republican elected leaders have a history of rhetorically opposing gender-affirming care and the LGBTQ community.
Recently, Rep. Brad Paquette (R- Niles) led a group of Republican lawmakers on social media to discuss proposals to outlaw trans health care. This period, Paquette introduced two bills that would make it a four-year felony to give “drugs or surgery to minors for sex transition.”
According to the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law, 78% of trans people in Michigan do not have an ID that lists the proper sex for them, the highest percentage of any state.
According to Zanotti, the bills the council will evaluate and possibly give to the House surface for a vote would give trans Michiganders some respect by recognizing trans constituents in each committee member’s area.
Transgender Michiganders are currently subject to punishment under the law, but according to Zanotti, they aren’t all that dissimilar from other residents of the state. Zanotti’s dad worked in the United Auto Workers union, which she described as “as Michigan as the story gets,” and her mother was a bank teller who rose through the ranks to become the leader of the neighborhood credit union.
“We’re Michiganders through and through, and just like everyone else, ‘put our heads down, go to work’ sort of people.” I want everyone to realize that because I think that matters,” Zanotti said. “I believe that our community is resilient, and given the events in our past, particularly the last five years in politics, this community has experienced a lot.
Two of the latest Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s guidelines would be codified by House Bills 5301 and 5302. State law would describe a person’s ability to select X as their non-binary gender designation and do away with the requirement to give birth certificates in order to change their gender marker on their driver’s license or state identification number, as well as the option to use an “X” instead.
Benson’s policies effectively do away with the laws that currently require a man to have proof that they underwent sex confirmation surgery in order to apply for new birth certificates with different sex designations than the ones that were given to them at birth.
This section of Michigan law has previously been deemed unconstitutional by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, and HB 5303 would eliminate the medical confirmation and also permit people to change their sex symbol to an “X” if they so desired.
The bills have not yet been put to a vote in the House.
Reprinted with MichiganAdvance.com consent and using the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Creative Commons license.
