Two years ago Governor Rick Perry signed a bill regarding marriage licensing rules for county and district clerks. Some how the Governor missed a provision in the bill allowing transgender people with a court order as proof of their sex-change to obtain a marriage license. Now, Republican lawmakers are trying to turn back time to strip this away. Rick Perry stated that "he never intended to allow transgender people to get married. The provision was sneaked through on a larger piece of legislation". Really, Rick? I personally, wouldn't sign off on a bill that I was not sure of everything in it. I do not care how long it would take to read. To go back on something that was put in place two years ago is absurd.
This is also completely discriminating. A sex-change may not completely change a persons make up, but it does enough to allow them to be considered the goal sex of the operation. Who is to say these people are not the sex they are trying so hard to be? I believe you are born the way you are, gay, straight, bi-sexual, etc., it is not by a choice you make out of the blue at some point in life. This feeling is embedded in you from the day you entered this world. Transgender people are just trying to match their outside to their inside. As with gay marriage, these people are not hurting anyone. They are just trying to live their lives as the rest of the non-transgender or non-gay population. Why should government be allowed to keep them from this? If you don't like it, don't involve yourself, but don't keep people in this community from living their lives as the rest of us just because you personally wouldn't do.
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ReplyDeleteBrittany,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I too share your concerns about conservative politicians making yet another grab for minority rights. In this particular situation, I can't help but feel they are being motivated by a strong prejudice, but also by a lack of education concerning modern scientific views on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Conservatives seem to think that sexual orientation and gender identity is a matter of conscious choice, one which there is an obviously right answer too. Modern science, on the other hand tends to strongly show that this is NOT the case and that these traits are established early on in the developmental process and quite possibly have strong genetic components which are set in stone at conception.
It seems like this would be a simple issue to discuss: there aren't any fundamental ideological differences and convincing someone to support transgender rights should only require them to understand basics facts of modern day psychology. Unfortunately, this task is not a simple as it should be, but at the same time I think there is still hope.
It's becoming demonstrably difficult for the previous generations to convince new generations of their logically flawed and bigoted beliefs. Every new generation, there is a sizable group of individuals that casts a skeptic glance to the collective wisdom of their elders. Acceptance of homosexuality and transgender rights is on the rise, even in some conservative circles. While the LGBT community may not be thrilled with the slow pace of human rights reform, they should take a sense of comfort knowing that there it is a matter of time until social attitudes in America are drug kicking and screaming into the 21st century.