Montana District Judge Michael Moses gestures during a court hearing over a state health department rule that prevents transgender people from changing their birth certificates, Thursday, September 15, 2022, in Billings, Montana. Moses struck down the rule at the conclusion of the hearing. (AP Photos/Matthew Brown)
September 15, 2022
Montana judge blocks anti-trans birth certificate rule
BILLINGS, Montana (AP) — A Montana judge on Thursday blocked health officials from enforcing a state rule that would prevent transgender people from changing the gender on their birth certificate.
District Court Judge Michael Moses chided attorneys for the state during a hearing in Billings for circumventing his April order that temporarily blocked a 2021 Montana law that made it harder to change birth certificates.
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Moses said there was no question that state officials violated his earlier order by creating the new rule. The court’s action reinstates a 2017 Department of Public Health and Human Services rule that allowed people to update the gender on their birth certificate by filing an affidavit with the department.
The legal dispute comes as conservative lawmakers in numerous states have sought to restrict transgender rights, including with bans on transgender girls competing in girls school sports.
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The Montana law said people had to have a “surgical procedure” before they could change the sex listed on their birth certificate, something Moses found to be unconstitutional because it did not specify what type of procedure was required.
Governor Greg Gianforte’s administration then created a new rule that blocked changes to birth certificates entirely, unless there was a clerical error.
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“We knew from the beginning the Gianforte administration was going against the will of Montanans and the court’s orders. And we are very relieved trans people will be able to update their birth certificate while this court makes a final decision,” said Shawn Reagor, director of equality and economic justice with the Montana Human Rights Network and a member of the transgender community.
“Unfortunately, the harm and stress trans, nonbinary and Two Spirit community members experienced through this avoidable court process is not as easily undone,” Reagor said in a statement Thursday.
Only Tennessee, Oklahoma and West Virginia have sweeping prohibitions against birth certificate changes similar to what Montana has pursued, advocates for transgender rights say. Bans in Idaho and Ohio were struck down in 2020.
A Republican lawmaker who voted in favor of the 2021 law suggested Moses was biased in favor of the plaintiffs in the case. Moses was appointed to the court by former Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat.
State officials denied that the new rule preventing birth certificate changes was adopted in bad faith. Montana Assistant Solicitor Kathleen Smithgall said the state came up with the new rule to fill a gap in regulations after the 2021 law was blocked.
The state health department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on when it might start processing applications for changing birth certificates.
