NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a group of transgender plaintiffs born in Tennessee hoping to force the state to allow them to change the gender names on their birth certificates.
The plaintiffs sought to overturn a 1977 law that generally prohibited such changes. They say it unconstitutionally discriminates against transgender people and the gender designation on their certificates is inaccurate because it does not reflect their gender identities.
The lawsuit also argues that the policy is harmful, saying that when transgender people present their birth certificates for identification, the mismatch between the documents and their gender identities exposes them to possible harassment. and even violence.
U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson wrote in his decision to dismiss that although there are various definitions of “sex,” the term “has a very narrow and specific meaning” for the purpose of birth certificates: “external genitalia at birth.”
Based on the limited definition, the designation can later become inaccurate “when it is ultimately perceived as deviating from the transgender person’s gender identity,” Richardson said.
Plaintiffs argue that “sex” should be defined by gender identity.
Lambda Legal, which brought the case on their behalf, criticized the decision in a statement and said it was evaluating possible next steps. It said the decision comes as Tennessee’s Republican supermajority focuses on transgender rights.
Such efforts include banning gender-affirming care for minors; protecting teachers who do not use transgender pronouns with students from lawsuits; definition of “male” and “female” in a way that prevents driver’s licenses and birth certificate changes; and banning private schools from allowing transgender girls to compete on female sports teams.
Richardson sought to steer clear of politics in his decision, writing that the case was “not grist for a broad-based discussion” about transgender rights but rather “a discrete legal dispute about the constitutionality of a specific stated policy” of the state.
Lead plaintiff Kayla Gore said she was saddened by the ruling that denied her and her co-plaintiffs a chance to plead their case.
“Tennessee’s discriminatory birth certificate policy has not only severely impacted my life, but also presents an obstacle to all transgender Tennesseans,” she said in a statement.
When the lawsuit was filed in 2019, Tennessee was one of three states that did not allow transgender people to change the gender name on their birth certificates. Since then, federal courts in two others, Kansas and Ohio, have found those policies unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, states including Montana, North Dakota and Oklahoma have adopted policies like Tennessee’s, according to Lambda Legal.
