Among the most frustrating aspects of being transgender is confronting the wall of laws that prevent us from simply living our lives to the fullest. Past and present legislation, either purposely or not, has created obstacles for our community that cis people rarely encounter.

An article written by Anna Liz Nichols and running on the Michigan Advance site, concerns the Byzantine route required by current, archaic Michigan state regulations for a transgender person to legally change their name. It is a process that a recently married person in the state gets to sidestep with ease:

"When a recently married individual wants to change any element of their name on their driver’s license or state ID all they have to do is obtain a certified copy of their marriage certificate, alert the Social Security office to receive a new Social Security card and take the required identifying documents to their local Secretary of State branch office in order to receive a new driver’s license or state ID with the new name. The process typically costs under $50."

Contrast this with the hoops a transgender person has to jump through to accomplish the same thing:

"The person must file a petition for a name change in the appropriate local court in a county they have been a resident in for more than a year, which costs around $175 to file."

"If a person has any criminal record there is an automatic presumption of guilt of attempting fraud)/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-711-1&highlight=.) if they petition for a name change. Petitioners bear the burden of proof in court to rebut that presumption in court, which often requires the help of hiring legal representation.

"Petitioners for a name change 22 years old and older are required to have two complete sets of their fingerprints taken at their local police station)/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-711-1&highlight=.), costing about $40. Required materials, including the fingerprints are reviewed by the state police department and then the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

Then petitioners for a name change have to publish notice of the court proceeding to change their name Published Notice,,and place of the hearing.) in a news outlet determined by the court for about $100 generally, noting the person’s current name, the name their petitioning for, and information about the proceeding in case a person wishes to contest the person’s name change."

Put simply--there is no legitimate reason for these legal obstacles and added costs. A fact which was noted by an advocate for changing these laws, testifying before the Michigan House Judiciary Committee. studying the proposed changes:

"Emme Zanotti, director of advocacy and civic engagement at Equality Michigan called attention to the requirement in the petition to put in writing a “purpose showing a sufficient reason for the proposed change and that the change is not sought with a fraudulent intent.”)/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-711-1&highlight=.)

“'When you presume fraudulent intent or guilt unless we can prove otherwise, that’s not how I learned our justice system to be,'” Zanotti said. 'Those aren’t just laws. I know that.'”

The hope is that even in the face of the ongoing persecution and demonization of the transgender community by some politicians, common sense will prevail and House Bills 5300, 5301, 5302, and 5303 will pass and allow transgender people at least one freedom enjoyed by the rest of the state's population.

There is far more to this story than what I've covered, so I encourage everyone to read this article in full and to contact their local state legislator and encourage them to vote to adopt these bills.

--- Anni