Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

It’s just a bill

Posted in:

Illinois

Two LGBTQ+ bills have already been introduced in this year’s General Assembly session.

One bill would make it easier for transgender and intersex people to change the gender on their birth certificate. The current law requires a statement from a health care professional. The version proposed in the Illinois House right now would remove that requirement altogether.

Lars Avis, a trans man who’s the secretary for Peoria Proud, said the bill would have made his transition easier. He said the bill is a matter of safety, especially for people who haven’t been able to get their gender marker changed. […]

Democratic lawmakers in the state House and Senate also reintroduced the REACH Act this month, which would require age-appropriate sex education in Illinois public schools. The bill calls for instruction that’s inclusive of “people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.” […]

“In Illinois, only 10% of LGBTQ students receive any kind of LGBTQ inclusive sex ed,” said [Mike Ziri, the director of public policy with Equality Illinois]. “We want to change that.”

* From the International Pentecostal Assembly Ecumenical and the Community Action Network…

IPAE is announcing a campaign for the creation of the DWAIN (Driver Was Assaulted In Need) Alert System as well as the DWAIN Community Academy. The DWAIN Alert System will be named after retired Chicago Lieutenant Fireman Dwain Williams who was killed during a daytime carjacking on the south side of Chicago on December 3, 2020. Incidents like the one that involved Lieutenant Williams and hundreds of others have sparked a need for community involvement.

The DWAIN Alert System will respond in similarity as the Amber Alert System, a national early warning system to help find abducted children. It will notify the community of carjackings, allow them to report the location of carjacked automobiles, giving police the opportunity to prevent other crimes and carjackings.

Illinois State Senator Patrick Joyce (40th District) will sponsor legislation to create the DWAIN Alert System. Legislation will focus on funding and implementation to make this effort a reality to provide an additional layer of public safety for citizens throughout the State of Illinois.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 1:35 pm

Comments

I support both these bills, but we urgently need to pass a bill requiring transgenders to participate in their birth sex in both high school and college sporting events.

Comment by Blue Dog Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 2:09 pm
Of all the bills we *urgently* need to pass, I certainly wouldn’t qualify transgender high school sports participation as one of them. This state has much bigger issues to address.

Comment by Not Upstate Not Downstate Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 2:19 pm
=== urgently===

Why “urgently”?

So your phobia is put at ease?

Ugh.

“urgently”… my goodness

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 2:20 pm
Ok. Maybe I overreacted with the ‘urgently’ thing. But maybe in the next week or so would be ok.

Comment by Blue Dog Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 2:38 pm
I don’t think I would say urgently. It’s just high school sports. Perhaps wait to see if there are any problems with the current rules.

I have heard the scare stories but there have been very few actual cases of males who transition and then go on to win spots or championships etc. Also we are talking about a biological bonus that only affects transitioners 1 way that is male to female. Why should a female who has transitioned to male have to play as a female?

Comment by cermak_rd Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 2:38 pm
=== But maybe in the next week or so would be ok.===

Your phobia is still noted, you make Jim Oberweis seem like a tolerant person… thats saying something.

Wow.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 2:47 pm
“we urgently need to pass a bill requiring transgenders to participate in their birth sex in both high school and college sporting events”

Why?

If such legislation has any merit, then you should be able to make a case for it.

– MrJM

Comment by @misterjayem Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 2:54 pm
Blue, are you on a high school girls track team?

Comment by Cheryl44 Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 2:55 pm
I am incredibly grateful for the two LGBTQ+ focused bills to be brought forth by the legislature this session and hope they are made a focus and quickly passed.

Not requiring a statement from a healthcare professional shows that we trust transgender and intersex people to determine their identity, prevents any “medical tests” that could be used to question whether someone is “truly” experiencing gender dysphoria, and removes an undue burden from the process.

Additionally, including age appropriate sex-ed that includes LGBTQ+ does wonders in both increasing acceptance through awareness of LGBTQ+ issues & people, and in helping to reassure LGBTQ+ children that they are not “abnormal” or “wrong.”

I look forward to the passage of both measures.

Comment by Legislative Tiger Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 4:27 pm
== Also we are talking about a biological bonus ==

No, we’re not. Transwomen have been competing in sports for years, and are not miraculously blowing out ciswomen due to some biological advantage. Trans people have been able to compete in the Olympics since 2004, and no trans person has ever won a medal.

Comment by Quibbler Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 4:39 pm
Since a birth certificate is what it says, a BIRTH certificate, it seems most appropriate to leave that document as it was originally created. And because the physical advantages for males in athletics should at this point be undeniable, requiring birth sex/gender to be the qualifier for sports that are separated by gender also seems like a no-brainer out of fairness to female athletes.

Comment by MrMarty Thursday, Feb 18, 21 @ 4:55 pm
“Trans people have been able to compete in the Olympics since 2004, and no trans person has ever won a medal.”

Pretty much thumps the “but fairness” argument.

– MrJM

Comment by @misterjayem Friday, Feb 19, 21 @ 2:29 pm