Creating legislation to criminalize being transgender?

Mary — Earlier this month, a bill was introduced in Texas that would make "gender identity fraud" a felony, meaning a person can be charged if they identify themselves to the government or their employer as "the opposite of the biological sex assigned to the person at birth." Will is trans and is fighting back against Texas House Bill 3817, saying: "With the entire U.S. moving to legislate that there is no difference between biological sex and gender, this would criminalize being transgender. Saying "I'm a man" at work would leave me open to being charged with a felony in Texas." Join Will by signing the petition. Stop Texas HB 3817 - Being transgender is not fraud 2,600 have signed Will Benton's petition. Let's get to 5,000! Sign now with a click As a trans man in the US, transphobic laws being proposed across the country are on my mind a lot. None of them go quite as far as this one. On March 5, 2025, a bill was proposed that would criminalize my existence in Texas. If this proposed bill made it to law, saying 'I'm a man' at work in Texas could open me up to a felony charge and jail time. I can't even imagine being a transgender person who lives in that state. If you care about the rights of trans Americans, please sign this petition to stop Texas House Bill 3817 and any bills that follow it. Over the last few election cycles, attacks on human rights in the US have escalated.  These harmful bills have a pattern. They never expect the first filing to pass or even make it to committee. They're just seeing what our reaction is. It's the first step to the bringing hateful legislation into law.  We are at that first step. Rep. Tom Oliverson filed Texas House Bill 3817. The proposed bill reads that a person commits "gender identity fraud" if they "knowingly make a false or misleading verbal or written statementto a governmental entity or the person's employer by identifying the person's biological sex as the opposite of the biological sex assigned to the person at birth." With the entire U.S. moving to legislate that there is no difference between biological sex and gender, this would criminalize being transgender. Saying "I'm a man" at work would leave me open to being charged with a felony in Texas It would be a state jail felony with a maximum 10K USD fine and 2-year prison sentence. This would, make no mistake, be used to disenfranchise transgender voters.  We need an overwhelming response now, both within Texas and across the world. We need the US Republican party to know this is an unacceptable route to even consider. They need not even play with this idea.  Rep. Tom Oliverson is a bigot who wants to make the world hostile to people who just want to live their lives and be happy. He should be condemned and anyone who thinks this bill is defensible should be voted out. They cannot be trusted with power. They're testing out the waters, let's show them these waters are full of piranhas.  Please sign this petition to bring attention to this escalation in transphobic legislative action.  Read or follow it here at Legiscan. It's a very short piece. https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/HB3817/2025 Sign now with a click Visit petition page Victories Every Day – 100% Funded by You Not beholden to politics or power brokers, Change.org is free for people everywhere to make change. Every day there are real victories for issues you care about, only possible because we are 100% funded by everyday people like you. Will you stand with us to protect the power of everyday people to make a difference? Support Change.org At Change.org, we believe in the voice of everyday people. Is there something that you want to change? Start a petition today The person (or organization) who is leading this petition is not affiliated with Change.org. Change.org is not responsible for the petition content. By clicking the sign now button, you authorize that you are Mary and you support this petition. If you'd like to ask others to sign the petition, you'll have a chance to do so after you sign it. Or, you can share this link. How useful was this email? 1 2 3 4 5 Not Useful Useful Unsubscribe from emails like this Unsubscribe from all Change.org emails Manage your email preferences  ·  Privacy policy We'd love to hear from you! Contact us through our help center. Change.org  ·  548 Market St #29993, San Francisco, CA 94104-5401, USA