Originally a comment by Your Name’s not Bruce? on Those who hold a certificate.

You know, if there’s a law saying that Xs are Ys when the reality is that Xs are not Ys then that’s the fault of the people who passed the law.

I guess these people need to read up on Canute’s little demonstration to his courtiers of the limitations of human command over material reality. His story is often botched in the retelling, being held up as an example of the hubris of a monarch rather than flattering lackies being taught that the king’s powers are finite. Here we have lawmakers believing that if they say something, it becomes reality.

The stupidity of this with regards to the human sexes should be as obvious as it would be in case of abolishing gravity, or proclaiming the ability to transmute base metals into gold. “Oooh, you’ve got a certificate ! Then I’ll happily accept payment in this genuine, certified gold that you’ve made from lead. It still looks kinda dark grey, but I’ll take your word that it really is gold. Then I’ll toss you out my tenth floor window so you can fly off home. BYE NOW!”