Legislators in at least two states are discussing bills allowing transgender people to keep documentation of a name change out of public record.
A bill in Washington would allow gender expression and identity as reasons to seal a future petition for a name change, and a California bill would require the sealing of petitions by minors to change their name and gender on identifying documents.
The Associated Press said advocates warn that transgender people can be susceptible to cyberbullying and physical violence if name-change petitions aren’t sealed and previous names are available in public records.Â
At the moment, only victims of domestic violence can have name changes easily sealed in Washington. Other states, including California, extend the same service to victims of human trafficking, stalking and sexual assault.Â
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Democratic Sen. Jamie Pedersen is sponsoring the Washington legislation, which passed the Senate this month with bipartisan support and is expected to pass in the House. The bill is modeled on current laws in New York and Oregon and would also provide privacy to refugees, emancipated minors and those who have been granted asylum.
“This seemed to me like a simple action that could go a long way in making transgender people a lot safer in our state,” Pedersen said.
University of Washington graduate student Maia Xiao, who has changed her name, wrote to Pedersen last summer urging reform after records of a transgender friend’s name change were published in an online forum and led to “relentless harassment, including hate mail.”
The same internet forum Xiao said her friend experienced harassment on came under fire last year for doxxing trans people and maliciously publishing personal information. The forum has also been linked to suicides, The AP reported.
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