New Jersey recognizes the gender of trans people. I.E. trans women are considered women, trans men are men, and non-binary people, at least in some instances are recognized as non-binary. Some recognition may require identification documentation changes, and some organizations or agencies may not fully recognize these changes.
New Jersey is a "sanctuary state" for adults and kids receiving trans medical care, through an executive order, although this order does not mention impact to custody agreements.
- Trans people are specifically named in New Jersey non-discrimination laws.
- Trans people are allowed to use the facilities they are comfortable in, including bathrooms, showers, locker rooms, etc. Legal documentation of your gender is not required for this protection.
- Drag performance and cross-dressing is legal in New Jersey.
See the USA TSA document.
- While most jails/prisons have regulations that, in theory, would consider gender identity in housing decisions, these regulations are often ignored and trans people are often housed according to sex assigned at birth.
- A widely publicized and sensationalized (including propaganda that was blatantly incorrect) case of consensual sex involving a trans woman in a state women's prison has been used to justify policy changes that make it easier to house a trans woman improperly due to "reproductive concerns."
- There is no legal definition of male/female in New Jersey.
Non-binary people are recognized, at least by some aspects of government, such as in the ability to change birth certificates, driver licenses, and data gathering. However, non-binary recognition is still incomplete in New Jersey.
- Trans medical care is legal for all ages, and New Jersey will not cooperate with other states who seek information about patients receiving care in New Jersey for medical transition.
- Transition care is not defined as child abuse
- New Jersey has a sanctuary executive order for people obtaining transition-related medical care in New Jersey, although this does not mention custody.
- New Jersey will not extradite people for violating another state's laws against medical transition
While New Jersey will not cooperate with other jurisdictions in many cases, this doesn't cover all possibilities and it may be possible for states to gather evidence of someone receiving care in New Jersey via other means (out-of-state medical insurance, phone records, witnesses, etc).
- Same-sex marriage (and thus all trans marriage) is recognized
Because of the rhetoric around trans people in the political and media space, trans people should use caution, particularly in bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, etc. Random and targeted attacks may occur, and trans people who report these attacks can expect to sometimes be misgendered by officials and public institutions.
Politically, New Jersey has felt it appropriate to utilize the law when political subdivisions attempt to violate the rights of transgender students by, for example, suing a discriminatory school district