ACLU sues Montana over transgender identity law requiring proof of surgery

[ad_1]

Two transgender people from Montana filed a lawsuit Friday against the state over a new law that requires transgender people who want to change the gender mark on their identity documents to prove they have undergone genital surgery.

The law, signed by Republican Governor Greg Gianforte in April, states that gender identification on a birth certificate can only be changed if the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services “receives a certified copy of a court order indicating that the gender of an individual born in the state of Montana has been changed.” Montana by a surgical procedure.”

Montanans Amelia Marquez, a transgender woman, and John Doe, a transgender man, argue in the lawsuit that the action violated their constitutional rights to privacy and equal protection of law and due process, according to a statement by the ACLU, the plaintiffs’ representation with the ACLU in Montana The Nixon Peabody LLP.

Marquis, who has lived in Montana her whole life, received hormone therapy and counseling but could not afford the surgery required by the new law, according to the lawsuit filed in Montana’s 13th District Court and Montana state naming, Gianforte, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services , and Adam Meyer, director of the state health department, as defendants.

“My inability to obtain a birth certificate that accurately reflects my gender identity is a painful and stigmatizing reminder of Montana’s refusal to recognize me as a woman,” Marquis said in the ACLU statement. “Furthermore, my craftsmanship from having an accurate birth certificate puts me at risk of embarrassment or even violence every time I am asked to provide my birth certificate, as it incorrectly identifies me as a male.”

The offices of Gianforte and Meyer did not respond to requests for comment.

Nationally, only 25 percent of transgender and non-transgender people report having undergone some form of transition-related surgery, according to the 2015 US Transgender Survey. As a result, advocates say laws requiring genital surgery make it impossible Most transgender people are required to change their gender markings on birth certificates or driver’s licenses.

Doe, the other plaintiff, has received some transitional care but does not want additional surgeries that may be required by law, according to the lawsuit.

If Doe were to show his current birth certificate, it would force him out on his own, which is “unreasonable,” Akila Lynn, a staff attorney for the Montana Civil Liberties Union, said in the statement.

“In addition, asking Mr. Doe to appear in court will result in huge emotional and financial burdens that are completely unnecessary,” Lin said. “Mr. Doe, Mrs. Marquis, and all Montana residents who seek to correct the gender designation on their birth certificate should be able to do so without the undue burden created by this last and inhumane law.”

The suit states that Montana law requires an individual to disclose his or her private medical information in public court proceedings, and as a result, “deprive that person of his or her rights to equality and privacy in violation of the Montana Constitution.”

Before the governor signed off on the measure, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services used regulations it established in December 2017 that did not require surgery or judicial procedures, according to the ACLU.

But in April, supporters of the surgery’s requirement said it would prevent people from accidentally changing their gender mark, the Montana Free Press reported, although advocates said that did not happen.

Republican Senator Carl Gillem, who introduced the bill, said on the Senate floor in early March that he believed the birth certificates were a “fait accompli,” according to the Montana Free Press. He said, “When a person is born, you record their place of birth, you record their weight, you record their gender. This is important information that must be documented.”

Montana is the only state so far this year to pass a law that makes it difficult for trans people to change their IDs, according to the ACLU. In fact, most countries are slowly removing these restrictions and allowing transgender people to change their gender markers through self-recognition, allowing someone to identify the gender marker that best represents their gender identity.

23 states allow self-certification to change the gender mark on a birth certificate and do not require surgery or a court order, according to the Movement Advance Project, a nonprofit LGBTQ research center. Fourteen states allow an M, F, or X, a non-binary gender mark, on birth certificates.

Laws in the remaining states are patchy. Twelve states have unclear policies regarding surgical or clinical requirements and may require a court order. Fourteen states, including Montana, require proof of surgery, and one state, Tennessee, does not allow changing the gender mark on birth certificates.

Courts recently decided in favor of transgender people in other states who sued over laws similar to Montana’s. In January, a federal court ruled that an Alabama law requiring proof of surgery to change the gender mark on a driver’s license was unconstitutional.

In the ACLU statement, John Knight, senior staff attorney for the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project, said Montana “has decided to increase government bureaucracy in people’s lives” despite the growing number of states easing restrictions on changing gender markers.

“Courts and state legislators across the country are increasingly saying that these barriers to accurate identification documents are unnecessary and serve no purpose for government,” Knight said in the statement. “Transgender and non-binary people need recognition for who they are and not permission from the government to live their lives.”

In late June, the State Department announced that non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming Americans would eventually be able to choose a gender mark in their passport other than the traditional “male” or “female”. In addition, applicants for US passports will no longer be required to provide medical documents if their gender identity does not match the gender mark on their other identification documents.

Follow NBC Out on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

[ad_2]