Last month, Townhall reported how Democrats in Illinois were working on a policy that would allow residents to amend their birth certificate to match their “gender identity,” including if that certificate was issued in another state.
Local outlets reported that the bill would allow Illinois residents to get a judicial order to alter the name and sex on birth certificates and other documentation issued in another state. In the state, the process no longer requires a certification from a health professional, which expedites the process.
However, some states are going the opposite direction and will not amend birth certificates for so-called “transgender” people.
On Friday, a federal appeals court upheld a policy in Tennessee prohibiting “transgender” people from changing the sex marker on their birth certificate.
The lawsuit challenging the policy was brought forward by left-wing organization Lambda Legal (via The Tennessean):
In a 2-1 decision, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the Tennessee policy is constitutional, writing that "there is no fundamental right to a birth certificate recording gender identity instead of biological sex." The majority called the policy, which is an outlier in the U.S., "a nondiscriminatory form of government speech embraced by some States about an undeniable historical fact."
In a statement, Lambda Legal senior counsel Omar Gonzalez-Pagan said, "The discrimination that is being suffered by transgender people in present-day America is something that, frankly, is reprehensible and shameful.”
"I hope that this decision doesn't give fodder to that, but rather allows us to galvanize to ensure that we can have a more inclusive and protective set of laws and policies,” Gonzalez-Pagan added.
Reportedly, the majority opinion sided with Tennessee, agreeing that maintaining birth certificates that match a person's biological sex protects the integrity and accuracy of vital records.
“Whether someone can change the sex on their birth certificate is a matter for each state to decide,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement. “While other states have taken different approaches, for decades Tennessee has consistently recognized that a birth certificate records a biological fact of a child being male or female and has never addressed gender identity. We are grateful that the Court of Appeals agreed with the district court that any change in Tennessee's policy can only come from the people of Tennessee.”
