Christopher Lee was a transgender activist who dedicated his life to advocating for transgender rights. As the founder of the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival, he felt it was important that his community gain more visibility and acceptance in mainstream culture. His efforts made him an inspirational figure in the San Francisco LGBT community. Unfortunately, the dignity that he brought his community in life was not returned to him in death.
When Christopher passed away in 2012 a dispute erupted between his friends and family about how he should be memorialized on his death certificate. In the end, his death certificate read “female” though he had identified himself and lived his life as a man.
Christopher’s story, and others like it, inspired me to author AB 1577, “The Respect After Death Act.” Signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown last year, AB 1577 clarifies legal procedure to ensure that identities of transgender individuals are properly reflected on death certificates. The legislation accomplishes this by requiring the authority completing a transgender person’s death certificate to do so in a manner consistent with their other official documents, such as a birth certificate or driver’s license, if those have been legally changed to reflect a gender transition. In the absence of these documents, the sex reported by legal next of kin shall be used.
Recent reports in the media affirm that The Respect After Death Act is coming into effect during a time when we still have much work to do to ensure that transgendered people are treated with dignity, especially on the public stage. In the last few months, a string of transgender deaths have been reported across the nation. In San Francisco, the Bayview community is mourning Taja DeJesus, a transgender woman who was very involved with her local church. Initial reports had identified DeJesus as a man, an oversight which authorities later corrected.
In New Orleans, the news of transgender woman Penny Proud’s death was misreported so often in the media that the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs released a statement “calling on the media to respect all transgender people and their families by using the correct pronouns and names for transgender victims and to use current photographs to allow [the transgender] community to maintain dignity both in life and in death.”
California’s Respect After Death Act is in place to legally support this call for dignity and visibility. While the Respect After Death Act will not go into effect until June 1, we have already seen a successful example of our bill in practice. Last December, Ki’Tay Davidson, a transgender and disability rights activist, passed away in his sleep. Los Angeles County Coroner Dr. Fajardo heard about the Respect After Death Act and took steps to recognize Ki’Tay as male on his official documents.
A person should rest in peace after death as the same person they were in life. AB 1577 is designed to ensure that the wishes of a transgender person regarding their gender identity are respected after they have passed. California is proud to stand with the transgender community and their loved ones. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity in this life and the next.
