UK transsexuals to get legal recognition of new genders

British ministers were today unveiling plans to allow transsexuals to get legal recognition of their new genders.

Britain's Lord Chancellor’s Department was to make the historic announcement following July’s landmark ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.

Britain is one of four European countries – alongside Albania, Andorra and Ireland – which refuse transsexuals permission to alter the gender recorded on birth certificates.

This prevents them marrying in their adopted sex and affects the age at which they qualify for the state pension.

Campaigners have been fighting for a change in the law for 33 years.

Male-to-female transsexual Elizabeth Bellinger was due to go to the House of Lords next month to overturn previous rulings which prevented her 20-year “marriage” being recognised.

Minister in the Lord Chancellor’s Department Rosie Winterton was announcing the British government’s plans today following recommendations from a cross-departmental working group.

Christine Burns of transsexual campaign group Press for Change said: “We are keen to examine the details of the proposals.

“It is vital that they offer consistent and complete legal recognition for all purposes.

“It’s no good someone being a man for one part of the law and a woman for another aspect, because that would lead to the same problems that people have suffered all along.”

She added: “People have waited a great deal of time for this and it has been six months since the European Court of Human Rights judgment.

“We don’t want to find legislative proposals sitting round and never finding parliamentary time.

“At the latest it should appear in the Queen’s Speech next year.”

Former male bus driver Christine Goodwin and another woman identified only as “I” both won backing for their fight for legal recognition as women after going to Strasbourg.

European judges held that the UK’s failure to recognise their new identities in law breached their rights to respect for private life and their right to marry under the European human rights law.

Miss Goodwin, 65, has lived full time as a woman since 1984 and had irreversible gender reassignment surgery in 1990.

Both women complained about their treatment in relation to employment, social security, pensions and the ability to marry.

Earlier this week Britain's Evangelical Alliance called on the British government to hold a full public consultation before any legislation was announced.

“Our position remains that it is not possible for a person to change their sex,” said spokesman Don Horrocks.

“Therefore any ensuing ‘marriage’ of transsexual people of the same sex could not be regarded as marriage from a Christian perspective.

“Considering that the longstanding matrimonial law of this country will be radically affected by these proposals, together with traditional understanding of what constitutes male and female, we would expect the government to consult the public as widely as possible before proposing any detailed legislation.”