DC Council Unanimously Passes Jones Birth Certificate Bill

Finally, some good news out of Washington DC for a change.  

As the recent birth certificate travails of a Georgia cis woman proved, it's a pain in the behind for trans women to change their documentation to match the person they are now.   The Washington DC Council just made that a little easier for trans and intersex residents of The District.

The DC Council unanimously passed on June 26 the JaParker Deoni Jones Birth Certificate Equality Amendment Act of 2013 that seeks to modernize DC's laws and makes it easier for the trans and intersex residents of the District to request birth certificates that reflect their current personal information.

The bill was named in honor of Deoni Jones, the 22 year old girl like us who was killed at NE DC bus stop last year and whose killer still hasn't been tried yet.

The bill requires those seeking to obtain a new DC birth certificate to submit a written and signed request from the person in question and a signed statement from a licensed health care professional attesting that the applicant has received treatment appropriate for a gender transition. The bill also eliminates a requirement that individuals publish their names and gender change in a general publication newspaper for three consecutive weeks.

It also allows people born outside the District of Columbia wanting to amend their name or gender to obtain a court order asking the original jurisdiction to issue a new birth certificate with the corrected information.

This June 26 vote sets up the bill to for final DC Council approval sometime in early July before the summer recess.  Mayor Vincent Gray (D) is expected to sign it into law and once the mandatory 30 day congressional review occurs, will take effect sometime in the fall of 2013.