Bills would let transgender people seal name-change requests

A bill in Washington would allow gender expression and identity as reasons to seal, or keep out of the public record, 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 identity documents. Republicans’ “disturbing” requests for data on transgender residents in some of those states add urgency to his proposal, Pedersen said. “Somebody’s gender identity is an innate piece about them — it’s intimate,” she said. ADVERTISEMENTSan Diego lawyer Clarice Barrelet, whose 11-year-old son is transgender, said simply plugging his name into a search engine shows his legal gender change.