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Posted: 4/18/07 at 3:02pm
SPRINGFIELD — Several Illinois lawmakers mocked sex changes and the idea of debating the subject Tuesday before rejecting a measure that would have made it easier to get a new birth certificate after switching genders.
One representative compared sex changes to voodoo and joked that he had thought about getting one so he wouldn’t have to shave. Another suggested the House could be debating more important matters.
The man presiding over the debate spoke in a falsetto as he called for a vote, although he ended up supporting the measure. The sponsor said she was “ashamed” of the comments.
It would have made it easier for people to change the gender on their birth certificate after undergoing a sex change in another country. Illinois law already allows birth certificates to be changed if the patient produces an affidavit from the doctor who performed the procedure. But affidavits from foreign doctors are not recognized, Feigenholtz said.
Her bill would have allowed U.S. doctors to examine patients and sign an affidavit saying they’d undergone a permanent sex change, whether through surgery or hormone treatments. She said some people cannot undergo surgery but can have their gender permanently changed through other treatments.
Rep. Bill Black, a Danville Republican, said he objects to recognizing non-surgical sex changes.
“Maybe you went somewhere and a voodoo doctor said you were now a man, where you had been a woman,” Black said.
“I’ve often thought that perhaps I was a female trapped in a male body. I know — it scares me, too,” he said to hoots from his colleagues. “I wish I didn’t have to shave every day. … I’d like to smell better. I’d like to have softer skin.”
Republican Rep. Chapin Rose, joked that the state might start issuing sex-change documents to deer.“How do you possibly — possibly — bring this forward when there’s so much this body needs to be considering?” Rose asked Feigenholtz. Rep. Art Turner, a Chicago Democrat, was presiding over the chamber during the debate and switched to a falsetto voice to ask, “Have all voted who wish?”
If anyone would like to express their opinions on this matter;
Representative William B. Black (R)
7 E. Fairchild
Danville, IL 61832
(217) 431-1986
(217) 431-2088 FAX
Representative Chapin Rose (R)
1113 Lincoln Avenue
Charleston, IL 61920
(217) 348-7673
(217) 348-7677 FAX
Representative Arthur L. Turner (D)
3849 W. Ogden Avenue
Chicago, IL 60623
(773) 277-4700
(773) 277-4703 FAX
The sponsor of the bill could use some support, also:
Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D)
1051 W. Belmont
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 296-4141
(773) 296-0993 FAX
The whole story
One representative compared sex changes to voodoo and joked that he had thought about getting one so he wouldn’t have to shave. Another suggested the House could be debating more important matters.
The man presiding over the debate spoke in a falsetto as he called for a vote, although he ended up supporting the measure. The sponsor said she was “ashamed” of the comments.
It would have made it easier for people to change the gender on their birth certificate after undergoing a sex change in another country. Illinois law already allows birth certificates to be changed if the patient produces an affidavit from the doctor who performed the procedure. But affidavits from foreign doctors are not recognized, Feigenholtz said.
Her bill would have allowed U.S. doctors to examine patients and sign an affidavit saying they’d undergone a permanent sex change, whether through surgery or hormone treatments. She said some people cannot undergo surgery but can have their gender permanently changed through other treatments.
Rep. Bill Black, a Danville Republican, said he objects to recognizing non-surgical sex changes.
“Maybe you went somewhere and a voodoo doctor said you were now a man, where you had been a woman,” Black said.
“I’ve often thought that perhaps I was a female trapped in a male body. I know — it scares me, too,” he said to hoots from his colleagues. “I wish I didn’t have to shave every day. … I’d like to smell better. I’d like to have softer skin.”
Republican Rep. Chapin Rose, joked that the state might start issuing sex-change documents to deer.“How do you possibly — possibly — bring this forward when there’s so much this body needs to be considering?” Rose asked Feigenholtz. Rep. Art Turner, a Chicago Democrat, was presiding over the chamber during the debate and switched to a falsetto voice to ask, “Have all voted who wish?”
If anyone would like to express their opinions on this matter;
Representative William B. Black (R)
7 E. Fairchild
Danville, IL 61832
(217) 431-1986
(217) 431-2088 FAX
Representative Chapin Rose (R)
1113 Lincoln Avenue
Charleston, IL 61920
(217) 348-7673
(217) 348-7677 FAX
Representative Arthur L. Turner (D)
3849 W. Ogden Avenue
Chicago, IL 60623
(773) 277-4700
(773) 277-4703 FAX
The sponsor of the bill could use some support, also:
Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D)
1051 W. Belmont
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 296-4141
(773) 296-0993 FAX
The whole story
