SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A bill to allow transgender people in New Mexico to change the gender on their birth certificate without ever having a sex change operation was met with ridicule and impassioned debate in the state House of Representatives.
The bill received final legislative approval Thursday evening after an opponent filed an amendment suggesting that people who identify as younger or older than they really are should be able to change the age listed on their birth certificates.
Supporters of the bill sat and stood mostly in silence as Republican Rep. Dennis Roch of Logan fielded questions — both serious and in jest — from Republican colleagues about the amendment, which failed.
Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell of Roswell asked whether she could change her birth certificate from Caucasian to Native American.