In the face of poisonous gender ideology, states and governing organizations have worked overtime to protect their women and children from its harms. Concerned Women for America leaders have worked alongside dozens of legislatures to pass state bills barring men from using women’s bathrooms, participating in women’s sports, and more. But passing these protections is only the first step. To ensure these laws function as intended, states must also safeguard the integrity of the records used to enforce them.
A growing loophole threatens to undermine many of these hard-fought protections. While states have spent years defining "man" and "woman" in law, far fewer have protected the integrity of the documents used to determine who is legally recognized as either. Today, only about 10 states prohibit changing the sex designation on a birth certificate to reflect gender identity, while the remaining 40 allow their citizens to rewrite history.
Birth certificates are “vital records,” meaning official government documents issued by the states that are used to track a person’s legal identity. These records also include death certificates and marriage licenses. While these are regulated by the states, the federal government and countless public and private entities rely on birth certificates to verify a person’s identity and status (citizenship, clearance, various benefits, etc.) Above all, these have been widely accepted as historical documents; they are written as evidence of a significant event (birth) and its surrounding details (parents, location, sex, etc.).
Overall, these are stagnant documents. While someone may move to several different states in their lifetime, their state of birth does not change. However, there are amendment processes to correct information that was inaccurate at the time of birth, such as correcting a parent's information or other factual errors that existed at the time of birth.
This process has been hijacked by the gender police and has caused a serious legitimacy concern with these state records. In approximately 40 states, you can change the sex marker on your birth certificate, and in many of those you can simply place an “X” marker. While this process has existed for decades to correct a mistaken record, it is now being used to reflect a person’s current “gender identity” that opposes their biological sex. The legitimacy of that identity is not a battle I shall fight at this moment, but rather the question of the integrity of the record.
A person’s sex will never change; it is written on every strand of their unique DNA. So whether by court order or simple self-attestation, a birth certificate that records a sex designation inconsistent with biological sex can undermine legal systems, programs, or identity verification that depends on birth certificates accurately documenting the historical facts surrounding birth.
This is what undermines the enforcement of well-meaning laws, and where other male-prioritizing organizations have created loopholes to sustain their participation in women’s activities. USA Volleyball (USAV), for example, released a new “gender competition policy” that claims to be in line with the USOPC and President Trump’s Executive Order, but requires athletes to participate as a “member of the gender assigned at the time of birth on their birth certificate.”
If the governing document used to determine eligibility can itself be altered, the underlying policy becomes virtually irrelevant.
Herein lies the crux of the issue. In most states that permit sex-marker amendments, the original birth certificate is legally sealed, and the newly issued certificate has no evidence of amendment. It looks exactly like the original, but with a different sex marker.
This small process is completely undermining the enforcement of common-sense safeguards for women. According to REDUXX, there are reports of multiple male athletes competing in USAV-sanctioned events under this loophole.
Falsified records are undermining states and other governing associations’ ability to adequately protect women and girls. But it doesn’t end there; subjecting vital records to the whims of gender ideology raises broader concerns about the integrity of government records that are intended to document historical facts rather than reflect changing personal identities.
We, of course, should never legitimize the claim that one could change their sex, even if requested by court order or doctor’s note. However, there are paths to preserve some integrity of these records while acknowledging one’s differing identity if prohibition is not a viable option.
Some legislators have understood this. For example, State Senator Michael McKay (R-Maryland-1st) in Maryland, a left-leaning state, offered a middle-ground amendment to an overwhelmingly progressive bill allowing Marylanders to change their sex marker on their birth certificate. McKay’s amendment, which gained bipartisan support, required the Secretary of Health to maintain a legitimate birth information history that can be accessed by government entities.
Alabama, another state where you can change your gender marker with a court order, issues an amended birth certificate (marked “AMENDED” except in rare cases following soon after birth) which must be accompanied by the original.
This is not merely a battle over ideology; it is a legitimacy concern that affects the ground government documents and identification stand on. Honorable representatives must look past ideology and safeguard the record-keeping process. Gender ideology will pass, but our historical records must remain.
Macy Petty Charles is Legislative Strategist for Concerned Women for America, the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization, and a former NCAA volleyball player. On X: @CWforA