(LifeSiteNews) — A Mexican governor vetoed a bill that would allow people to legally change their gender in his state.
Mauricio Kuri, the governor of the state of Querétaro, vetoed a bill passed by the state legislature that sought to allow individuals to change their “self-identified gender” on official personal documents through an administrative process without the need for a judicial proceeding.
The bill, known as the “Gender Identity Law,” has been promoted by the left-wing Morena party, which is led by Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum. As ACI Prensa reported, the proposed law was approved by the state legislature with 14 votes to 11 votes on April 30. It defined “gender identity” as “the internal and individual experience of each person, as they perceive themselves, which may or may not correspond to the sex recorded on their birth certificate.”
“Under no circumstances will proof of surgery, medical treatment, therapy, diagnosis, or any other procedure be required for the recognition of gender identity,” the text of the vetoed bill states.
Kuri, a member of the National Action Party (PAN), said in a video message on May 25 that “our priority is to work to protect families” and “we have placed special emphasis on safeguarding our children and adolescents, because our future and our hope lie with them.”
“We have been an example of this at the national level. And today will be no exception. Therefore, I announce that I am vetoing the so-called ‘Gender Identity Law’ in accordance with my constitutional powers,” the governor of Querétaro stated.
The Constitution of Querétaro stipulates that when a governor vetoes a bill it is returned to the legislature, which must pass it again by a two-thirds majority for it to become law.
Kuri noted in his message that the proposed law is “driven by the radical left” and “allows children and adolescents to change their gender on their birth certificates according to their self-perception.”
“This goes against the values, upbringing, and integrity of Querétaro families. It is an ideological issue that they want to impose on our society,” he said, stressing, “I will not allow it.”
“It is said that the law does not allow children to change their gender, but that is false,” the governor warned, adding that “the radical left seeks to open a door that will destroy lives, disrupt families, and affect the future of society.”
While the bill stipulates that those who want to change their “gender identity” must be “of legal age,” pro-family advocates have warned that these supposed restrictions paved the way for the judicial system to ultimately open the door to the process for minors.
“This was hidden within the legislative technique itself that they employed in drafting the bill,” pro-family activist Uriel Esqueda from the Actívate platform said. He noted that the “safeguard” supposedly restricting the process to adults could “open the door” for groups advocating for “trans children” to file “strategic lawsuits – as was the case in Puebla and is the case in Jalisco – so that the Court itself would compel states to legislate on the matter of ‘trans children.’”