PA Legislators Announce Transgender Name Change Bills

HARRISBURG — State legislators joined members of the transgender and LGBTQ+ community at the state capitol this week to advocate for pending legislation that would make the name change process easier for transgender Pennsylvanians.

The Harrisburg press conference on Monday addressed a legislative package being put forth by lawmakers from both the state House and Senate.

Patch reported in January on the move to ease the burden for transgender individuals looking to legally change their names.

Monday's news conference included legislators from Southeastern Pennsylvania, including Sen. Katie Muth (D-Montgomery/Chester/Berks), Sen. Amanda Cappelletti (D-Montgomery/Delaware), and Sen. Tim Kearney (D-Chester/Delaware), as well as western Pennsylvania Sen. Lindsey Williams, a Democrat from Allegheny County.

State House members including Rep. Ben Sanchez, a Montgomery County Democrat, were also on hand to praise the legislative proposals.

"Someone's gender identity is an extremely personal journey. Many people struggle with the decision to come out about their gender identity in light of a society that has been slow to recognize transgender people as deserving of equal rights and respect," Sanchez said in a statement. "Unfortunately, bureaucratic roadblocks such as changing information on one's birth certificate make this process even more complicated as transgender people face discrimination and multiple barriers when changing their sex on government documents."

Cappelletti agreed that there are too many barriers for transgender people, and saying the bills being put forth would help to make "life more equitable and inclusive in the Commonwealth.

"Now is the time to stand with and in support of transgender Pennsylvanians, which this legislative package will accomplish," Cappelletti stated. "In addition, changing our outdated and lengthy name change process will make Pennsylvania more efficient as a state."

The legislative package contains a number of proposals, including the following:

• Create a new, administrative name change process
• Issuing new birth certificates that no longer contain a sex designation
• Eliminate the publication requirement of name changes and make automatic sealing of records the default
• Elimination of name change restrictions for those who had prior felony convictions
• Create a Transgender Name Change Assistance Grant Program
• Require publicly available information on the name change process, dedicated safe point of contact, and training on how to handle the process

"This legislation would remove an expensive and unnecessary hurdle for Pennsylvanians petitioning for a name change," said State Rep. Nancy Guenst, a Montgomery County Democrat, who also participated in the announcement.

Some of the legislators participating in Monday's news conference are members of the Equality Caucus, which says it is a bipartisan, bicameral caucus whose mission is to advocate for equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual and people of all genders and sexualities in Pennsylvania.