Arizona Birth Certificate Policy Found to Violate Trans Rights

An Arizona law that requires transgender people to prove they’ve undergone gender-affirming surgery before changing the sex marker on their birth certificates is unconstitutional, a federal court said.

The provision violates transgender people’s rights under the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause because it treats them differently than cisgender people, the US District Court for the District of Arizona said Tuesday. Trans people unable to satisfy the surgery requirement—either because it’s illegal under Arizona law for people under 18 or because they don’t want to undergo surgery—are forcibly required to disclose their transgender status whenever asked to present a birth certificate, ...