HB25-1109, which helps ensure transgender individuals are correctly gendered in death, has passed through House Committee! Read RMEQ’s Board President Bryn Long's testimony supporting the bill:
Chair and members of the committee,
My name is Bryn Long, and I am here today as a transgender man, a
Coloradan, and someone who knows firsthand the importance of having our
identities recognized, both in life and in death. I am also the president of the board
of Rocky Mountain Equality, but today, I am speaking on my own behalf and on
behalf of the trans community. I am asking you to vote in support of HB25 1109.
I transitioned later in life. It took me years to be able to live as the man I
have always known myself to be. Like so many other trans people, I fought to have
my identity recognized—on my driver's license, my medical records, and in the
way that people see me. However, I was born in a state where unfortunately I
cannot change my birth certificate. I should not have to worry that, after I die, my
true identity that I have been living could be erased by someone else’s decision or
outdated records.
This bill ensures that men like me and that trans women and non-binary
people are remembered as who we are, not just who we were assigned to be at
birth. It does not force anyone to change what they believe about gender, but it
does ensure that official records reflect a person’s lived reality and legal identity.
HB25-1109 is about dignity, accuracy, and respect. It provides a clear
process, one that relies on legal documentation and the voices of those closest to
us. It does not create confusion—it eliminates it. It does not impose ideology—it
simply ensures fairness.
Imagine what it would be like for your family, friends and loved ones who
have known your life lived to not be able to honor you in death as your authentic
self. For too long, trans people have had to fight to be seen in life. We should not
have to fight to be seen in death. I urge you to vote yes on this bill and take one
more step toward ensuring that every Coloradan is treated with the dignity they
deserve.
Thank you.