Had a good student paper this sem on the legal effects of the stalled bill to change NZ's regime for birth certificate changes to a self-ID model.

One of the most important points it makes is that most of the things opponents of the change are worried about are *already allowed*

Prisons, sport, bathroom use, statistics, women's shelters, human rights protections... *none of these* are determined by birth certificate in NZ. *None of them*. To the extent that opponents are worried about trans women in these areas, the law already permits them to be there.

The importance of the change to the birth certificate regime in substantive legal terms is in v few residual areas. The real importance of the change to self-ID is for social recognition and acceptance for trans people, and certainty that their gender can be officially recognised

So either opponents of the change misunderstand both the current law and the proposed changes, or what they oppose is in fact social acceptance for trans people. Because the bill simply does not have the legal effects they are worried about.