Mexican lawmaker
pioneers transsexual rights

A Mexican congressman said Thursday he will submit a bill in March that would amend the country's constitution to guarantee the rights of transsexuals and change civil laws to ensure that they can legally change their name and gender. David Sanchez Camacho's bill would insert a paragraph into Article 4 of the Mexican constitution stating that ''every person has the right to the recognition and free exercise of their gender identity and their gender expression.''

Article 4 currently guarantees equal rights for women and men and states the rights of children and families, but it does not mention gays, lesbians, or transsexuals. A transsexual is a person who has undergone a sex-change operation or whose sexual identification does not correspond with the gender at birth.

Changes to the constitution need approval from two thirds of both houses of congress and two-thirds majorities in at least 16 of the 31 state legislatures. Sanchez Camacho said he had the support of his leftist Democratic Revolution Party, which holds about one quarter of the seats in the lower house.

Transgender activists said they hope other countries will present similar proposals. (AP)