CHICAGO — Three laws supporting LGBTQ rights passed and signed in 2017 will go into effect on January 1, 2018.
Equality Illinois, the statewide LGBTQ rights organization, said they had pushed for all three during the year.
- The birth certificate modernization law allows transgender people tto update the gender marker on their birth certificate without going through surgery.
- The panic defense ban prevents suspects from claiming that “panic” over LGBTQ people is an excuse in a murder.
- The public service law requires the Governor’s office to report how many LGBTQ people are appointed to our state boards and commissions.
“Across the country, we have seen attacks on the LGBTQ community increase in number and fervor,” said Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, in a statement. “But in Illinois in 2017, we demonstrated that we can fight back and win thanks to the hard work of LGBTQ Illinoisans and our allies and the support of leaders in the Statehouse.”
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