Bolivian lawmakers approve transgender rights bill

Bolivian lawmakers have approved a proposal that would allow transgender people to legally change their name and gender on official documents.

EFE on Nov. 25 reported that Justice Minister Virginia Velasco made the announcement during a press briefing in the country’s administrative capital of La Paz.

The news agency said those who wish to legally change their name and gender will have to prove they are adults. Only Bolivian citizens would be able to take advantage of the proposed law, according to EFE.

Bolivian LGBT rights advocates had lobbied lawmakers in the landlocked South American country for years to allow trans people to legally change their name and gender.

“The Gender Identity Law has the basic goal of allowing for the legal and juridical change of name and sex marker in the identity documents of trans people,” said the Freedom Civil Association for Social Development and Cultural Promotion, a Bolivian advocacy group, in a statement. “[This ensures] you can exercise your fundamental rights like voting, education, health, employment, housing, rights.”

Source: www.washingtonblade.com