Man Who Identifies As A Woman Sues State For Not Changing His Birth Certificate
A man who identifies as a woman has filed a lawsuit against the state of Idaho for refusing to change the gender on his birth certificate from "male" to "female".
The man, a 28-year-old transgender identified only as F.V., reportedly wanted to ask Idaho's Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics if he could change the gender indicated in his birth certificate to "accurately reflect" who he is, Christian News reported. The staff at the Bureau declined, causing F.V. to seek legal action.
F.V., assisted by pro-LGBT group Lambda Legal, filed a lawsuit against the state of Idaho asserting that it has denied F.V.'s First Amendment rights to free speech by preventing him to be characterized with the sex he identifies with. Peter Renn, an attorney with Lambda Legal, says the refusal to change F.V.'s birth certificate "defies logic."
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"A woman has the right to be treated as a woman, rather than a man, by her government," the lawsuit asserted, according to the Associated Press, "and the fact that she is a woman who is transgender does not change that right."
Most states allow people to have their birth certificates changed to reflect their gender identity. States such as Colorado and Alabama require a proof of sex reassignment surgery before the gender specified at birth can be changed. Some states like California, however, only require an affidavit indicating that a "clinically appropriate treatment" has been done to have the gender changed.
Idaho, Kansas, Ohio and Tennessee prohibit any change in the gender indicated in a person's birth certificate. The gender assigned at birth remains the gender the birth certificate carries.
In the lawsuit, the 28-year-old F.V., who now lives in Hawaii, said he has been living as a woman for more than a decade since he was 15 years old. He already underwent sex reassignment treatments and even had his name changed on his driver's license and Social Security records.
F.V. said in the lawsuit that his birth certificate has been the cause of some hostility, causing him to fear for his safety.
