Tag: Name Change

WI: Wisconsin court rules against transgender sex offender

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Source: wgno.com 7/7/22 MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled Thursday that a transgender woman cannot change her name because she is on the state’s sex offender registry and the law does not allow people on the registry to change their names. The court’s 4-3 decision upholds the rulings of two lower courts, which rejected the woman’s requests to change her name and avoid registering as a sex offender. Read the full article  

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IL: Name Change for Transgender Sex Offender Debated at Seventh Circuit

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[courthousenews.com – 11/6/20] CHICAGO (CN) — A Seventh Circuit panel heard arguments Friday over whether a Wisconsin law barring convicted sex offenders from changing their name amounts to free speech infringement. The underlying lawsuit was brought in Milwaukee federal court in May 2019 by Karen Krebs, a transgender woman from Kenosha, Wisconsin, who cannot change her name due to a 1992 conviction which required her to register as a sex offender. Wisconsin law makes it a Class H felony for anyone who is required to register as a sex offender…

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MA: O’Connell sponsors bill to prevent sex offender name change

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[tauntongazette.com – 9/19/19] TAUNTON – State Rep. Shaunna O’Connell, R-Taunton, wants to put an end to what she calls a loophole that allows registered sex offenders to legally change their names. O’Connell, who is running in this year’s Taunton mayoral race, filed legislation a week ago to prohibit convicted sex offenders from changing their name to hide their identity. She said that more than a dozen cosponsors in the House signed the bill that she says in the end will protect children and families. A story last January by Boston…

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WI, IL: Wisconsin, Illinois sued over transgender name-change laws

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[washingtonpost.com – 5/1/19] Attorneys sued Wisconsin and Illinois Wednesday over laws that forbid transgender individuals from changing their names if they have certain criminal convictions. Both federal lawsuits argue that the states are violating free speech rights and are preventing people from expressing how they identify themselves. “The impact on their lives is severe. This is an issue of equality and equal participation in society,” said Lark Mulligan, an attorney who filed the Illinois lawsuit. Mulligan, who is a transgender woman, noted “all the times that people are forced to…

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