Bills would let transgender people seal name-change requests

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM, SOPHIE AUSTIN and MANUEL VALDES
Associated Press/Report for America

SEATTLE (AP) — Legislators in at least two states are trying to allow transgender people to keep records of their name change out of the public record. A bill in Washington would allow gender expression and identity as reasons to seal a petition for a name change. And a California bill would require the sealing of petitions by minors to change their name and gender on identity documents. Advocates warn transgender people can be open to cyberbullying or violence because their previous lives are an open book. One advocate notes school students can and do easily find and share such records on their peers.