Oregon governor signs bill easing gender identification changes News
Oregon governor signs bill easing gender identification changes

Governor Kate Brown [official website] signed a bill [materials] on Wednesday that allows for transgender Oregonians to make updates to their birth certificates without publicly doing so through the court system. Before the legislation, amendments to document concerning people’s names and genders were required to be publicly posted by the courts. The new bill also allows for changed records to be sealed so potential future employers and landlords are unable to discriminate based on gender identity changes. A 2015 survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality [advocacy website] showed that just one in 10 transgender people have legal identification that matches their gender identity. Reduced costs and fewer processing hurdles will make it easier for transgender individuals to obtain the identification required to find jobs and receive access to medical care. The law will go into effect January 2018.

The transgender community has faced significant legal changes and challenges in the last year. Also on Wednesday California senators approved a bill [text] in a 26-12 vote that will add a third gender option to state IDs for people who identify as non-binary. In April the US Department of Justice [official website] dropped a lawsuit [JURIST report] against North Carolina concerning a bill requiring transgender people to use the public bathroom associated with their birth gender. North Carolina repealed [JURIST report] House Bill 2 in March with the passage of House Bill 142. Last May former North Carolina governor Pat McCrory filed a complaint for declaratory judgment asking the federal court to weigh in on the legality of the bill but withdrew [JURIST report] from the lawsuit in September. In March 2016 North Carolina individuals and civil rights groups filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against McCrory, claiming that the bill was unconstitutional and discriminatory. Earlier that month McCrory signed the bill into law [JURIST report], preventing local governments from enacting their own nondiscrimination ordinances and making them unable to pass laws allowing transgender people to use the public restroom or locker room that corresponds with their gender identity.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.