By John Mack Freeman
Governor Alejandro García Padilla of Puerto Rico issued two executive orders this week that extend protections to trans people in the US commonwealth. One order allows for Puerto Ricans to change the gender on their driver’s license to match that of their gender identity. The second bans hospitals from discriminating against patients in emergency rooms based on their gender identity. Via The Washington Blade:
“My administration is committed to the eradication of all types of discrimination,” said García in a press release that his office issued on Tuesday.
Pedro Julio Serrano, founder of Puerto Rico Para Tod@s, a Puerto Rican LGBT advocacy group, praised García.
“I congratulate the governor for doing the right thing,” said Serrano. “Transgender and transsexual people deserve all rights. This is a great step that recognizes their dignity and begins to eradicate the institutional barriers that prevent them from having the same opportunities that the rest of the population (of Puerto Rico) takes for granted.”