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UNITED KINGDOM

UK ID Card Plans Put Transgender People in Danger, Say Greens
 

BRIGHTON, February 17, 2009  –  Brighton Green Party councillor Vicky Wakefield-Jarret has today warned that Government’s proposals for ID cards risk increasing transphobia, and could pose a threat to the safety of transgender people.

“Greens have long been opposed to ID cards,” said Ms. Wakefield-Jarret, councillor for the Hanover & Elm Grove ward.

“Not only are they hugely expensive and a bureaucratic nightmare, they could prove damaging to community relations and run the risk of huge civil liberties abuses.

“Current proposals pose an extra danger to people who live or present themselves in a gender opposite to that of their birth, because cards could reveal at the touch of a button their original birth gender.

“When this happens, an individual’s chance of experiencing transphobia of some kind increases,” she emphasised.

“Although people in possession of a Gender Reassignment Certificate (GRC) will be able to have an ID card detailing just their chosen gender, getting a GRC can a difficult process, and in some cases may mean individuals have to annul happy marriages.

“Clearly, the requirement to have an ID Card will cause big problems for many transgender people and in some instances may place them in danger.”

Ms. Wakefield-Jarret said that she had already signed a petition calling on the government to change their plans to ensure ID cards do not cause problems for the transgender community.

“But I hope that the Government will eventually abandon the entire scheme,” she concluded.

There is an on-line petition on the Prime Minister’s Number 10 Website calling for “the Prime Minister to ensure that the safety of the Transsexual, Transgendered, Intersex and gender-queer Communities is not placed at risk by insisting that harmful data is kept on the National ID Database …”

To read the petition and to sign, click HERE.

Important Note: You must be a British citizen or resident to sign the petition.  Deadline to sign is March 6, 2009.  There are just under 600 signatures on the petition (February 17).

LINK

Brighton & Hove website

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