By Laura Woodhouse | 13 February 2009, 13:00

Yet another reason why the National ID scheme is a crock: transgendered people will be forced to apply and pay for two cards, one in their “birth gender” and one for their self-identified gender: guess which one is viewed as valid? Gender Spectrum UK explain why this is discriminatory and potentially dangerous for the individuals concerned:

The draft guidelines [for the National ID Card] require people to have their gender (determined as either Male or Female as reflected by their Birth Certificate) announced on the ID Card. If a person wishes to present in a manner that is not the same as their Birth Certificate they will have to undergo a process to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) or hold 2 ID cards. This means that unless a GRC is obtained, the person will need to have two ID cards. Both will be in the person’s legal name, but one will identify the person as male, the other as female. The one in the birth gender will be valid for travel throughout Europe, the other will not.

Once a full GRC has been issued, a single ID card will be issued in the acquired gender.

Each of these individual cards must be paid for in full.

The guidelines also state that the database will also keep details of your birth gender, even after a GRC has been issued.

We believe that there are a number of issues that need to be addressed. We believe that a person carrying two ID cards, each bearing details that conflict with the other, will become vulnerable and at risk from harm from foreign security services or members of the public, particularly in volatile countries and/or situations. We believe that this puts many people’s lives at risk. We also believe that this puts many people who do not have a GRC in a vulnerable position.

You can sign the petition against the proposals here. (Deadline March 6)

NO2ID website here.