California State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-11th district) has introduced Senate Bill 59, the “Transgender Privacy Act,” to enhance privacy protections for transgender and nonbinary people. The bill aims to automatically seal and keep confidential all court records related to gender transitions, reducing the risk of involuntary outing.
“The incoming Trump Administration and Republican Congressional leadership have made clear that targeting and erasing trans people is among their highest policy priorities, and California must have our trans community members’ backs,” Wiener said in a press release. “Making this personal identifying information public after someone transitions — including a person’s dead name, as well as the basic fact that they’re trans or non-binary — pointlessly exposes trans and nonbinary Californians to harassment and potential violence.”
During his campaign, Trump voiced opposition to transgender athletes competing in girls’ and women’s sports and, at an event in Phoenix last month, promised to “stop the transgender lunacy” during his presidency and vowed to establish a federal policy recognizing only two genders.
“As Trump and his cronies continue their cynical incitements of violence against transgender people, it is critical that we fight back with progressive protections at the state level,” Sydney Simpson, co-chair of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ+ Democratic Club’s Trans Caucus, said in a statement. “The right to privacy and safety are sacred to our community, and we will not back down.”
In a press release on the introduction of Senate Bill 59, Wiener emphasized the growing threats faced by transgender Californians, noting that right-wing groups and individuals have exploited publicly available personal information to harass trans people nationwide. “The incoming Trump administration will only embolden abusive right-wing extremists, and it is up to states like California to defend LGBTQ and other targeted communities amid a rising swell of hate,” Wiener said.
The senator’s office cited the case of a transgender woman in Stanislaus County, California, who filed a lawsuit to seal her court records after experiencing harassment following her forced outing on social media and at work. Similar incidents have been reported in Washington, New York, and across the country.
“Transgender people face an insurmountable constant threat of being doxxed and harassed due to their status of being transgender,” LGBTQ legislative researcher Allison Chapman told Truthout. “I have personally experienced this kind of harassment and live with the constant fear of having my personal information publicized leading to threats on my life.”
Many transgender and nonbinary people are shocked to discover that sensitive records, including their deadnames, are easily accessible via simple online searches. Hazel Williams, a San Francisco resident and community organizer, shared her experience in the press release: “When I learned I was unable to change my name in California without being forcibly outed online and exposed to harassment I was appalled.”
In 2017, Oregon became the first state to pass a law allowing transgender people to seal court records related to their transitions. New York followed in 2021, permitting trans people to seal records if they can demonstrate a risk of violence or intimidation. In 2023, Washington enacted legislation that automatically seals records once a name or gender change is approved.
In California, existing legislation provides some protections. AB 223, the “Transgender Youth Privacy Act,” introduced in 2023, mandates that courts keep confidential any petitions filed by minors for name, gender, or sex changes. SB 59 builds on this by extending similar protections to adults and applying retroactively to past court records.
“There are 220,000 transgender and non-binary adults in California. All of us deserve privacy and safety and this legislation is a vital step in that direction,” Williams added.
Additionally, in 2024, California’s 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno ruled in favor of a transgender woman, allowing name-change and gender-transition records to be fully sealed. However, this process is discretionary, requiring individuals to proactively request sealing — a challenging task given the lack of awareness about public record access. SB 59 would streamline this process. “[T]ransgender people need to know, definitively, that their records are public and request that they be sealed to gain protection,” the press release states.
“Having accurate identity documents is critical to allowing transgender people to live safely and openly as their authentic selves,” Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang said in a statement. “Unfortunately, personally identifying information related to name and gender marker changes can be discovered with a simple internet search, putting transgender people at greater risk for discrimination, harassment and even violence.”
Hate crimes motivated by anti-transgender bias in California rose by 10.2 percent between 2022 and 2023, reflecting broader national trends. Trans people remain over four times more likely than their cisgender peers to experience violent victimization, including assault and rape. In 2022, 30 percent of transgender people in the U.S. reported verbal harassment related to their gender identity.
“With the alarming rise in attacks against the trans community, it is more important than ever to strengthen protections that allow transgender individuals to live authentically and safely. This legislation builds on the progress we’ve made for minors and extends essential protections to adults, allowing them greater security,” Kathie Moehlig, executive director of TransFamily Support Services, said in the press release. TransFamily Support Services, in addition to Equality California, the ACLU of Southern California, Trans Youth Liberation, and the Harvey Milk Democratic Club Transgender Caucus, are sponsoring the bill.
California is one of 16 states identified by transgender journalist and activist Erin Reed as being among the most protective for transgender people. According to Reed, these states serve as refuges for people fleeing oppressive anti-trans laws in other parts of the country. These states actively support gender-affirming care and provide strong legal protections to ensure its accessibility, as long as such treatments remain federally lawful. They are also well-positioned to resist federal anti-trans policies, particularly under a Republican administration.
“This bill is long overdue and I hope it’s swiftly passed,” Chapman told Truthout.
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