Good Morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.
My names is Toni Diamond and I am a resident of Rapid City. I am a transgender woman and I wanted to share with you why I feel you should vote no on House Bill 1076. To change my gender marker, I had to go through counseling to ensure I knew what I was doing. I also had to have a doctor confirm my transition. Once those steps were complete, I was able to get my gender marker changed on my birth certificate. That simple change on my birth certificate made my life much easier.
The pain, embarrassment, shame, and fear were gone because now my legal documentation matched what people saw. When I go to the doctor, apply for a job, fill out an application I no longer have to go through a lengthy explanation. That simple change removed the awkward moments whenever I had to show my ID. The decision to allow a person to change their gender marker should be left to counselors and doctors who are qualified and trained in dealing with this; and for minors, the family, who know the child better than you and I, should be able to decide how their child is identified. Passage of this bill will cause more harm to those in the transgender community.
I want to thank you for allowing me to speak today and I ask that you to please vote no on House Bill 1076.