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Federal judge slams Ohio's policy against transgender birth certificate changes in ruling [View all]
Source: Cincinnati Enquirer
Federal judge slams Ohio's policy against transgender birth certificate changes in ruling
Cameron Knight
Cincinnati Enquirer
Published 4:20 p.m. ET Dec. 16, 2020
A federal judge Wednesday blasted Ohio officials and the state's policy of preventing transgender people from changing the sex marker of their birth certificates.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson order that the policy be reversed immediately calling it unconstitutional. He said there was no rationale for the policy, which was apparently only put in place in 2016.
Watson said that that Ohio's policy closely resembles the policy struck down in the landmark LGBT equal protection case Romer v. Evans.
"This policy resembles the sort of discrimination-based legislation struck down under the equal protection clause in Romer v. Evans as nothing more than a policy 'born of animosity toward the class of person affected' that has 'no rational relation to a legitimate government purpose,'" Watson wrote quoting the earlier court ruling.
-snip-
Cameron Knight
Cincinnati Enquirer
Published 4:20 p.m. ET Dec. 16, 2020
A federal judge Wednesday blasted Ohio officials and the state's policy of preventing transgender people from changing the sex marker of their birth certificates.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson order that the policy be reversed immediately calling it unconstitutional. He said there was no rationale for the policy, which was apparently only put in place in 2016.
Watson said that that Ohio's policy closely resembles the policy struck down in the landmark LGBT equal protection case Romer v. Evans.
"This policy resembles the sort of discrimination-based legislation struck down under the equal protection clause in Romer v. Evans as nothing more than a policy 'born of animosity toward the class of person affected' that has 'no rational relation to a legitimate government purpose,'" Watson wrote quoting the earlier court ruling.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/12/16/judge-slams-ohios-policy-against-transgender-birth-certificate-changes/3928877001/
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Source: Associated Press
Court: Ohio must allow gender changes on birth certificates
By JULIE CARR SMYTH
December 16, 2020
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio can’t keep refusing to allow people to change the gender listings on their birth certificates, a federal court ruled Wednesday.
In response to a lawsuit brought by four transgender people, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio found Ohio’s birth certificate rule imposed by the state Department of Health and the Office of Vital Statistics is unconstitutional.
The state was weighing an appeal.
Judge Michael Watson rejected the state of Ohio’s arguments that the policy helped prevent fraud and maintain a historically accurate record of its citizenry. He called such justifications “nothing more than thinly veiled post-hoc rationales to deflect from the discriminatory impact of the policy.”
The court sided with the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and Lambda Legal, which argued on behalf of plaintiffs that the state’s requirement prevents transgender people from obtaining a document essential to everyday living and subjects them to discrimination and potential violence.
-snip-
By JULIE CARR SMYTH
December 16, 2020
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio can’t keep refusing to allow people to change the gender listings on their birth certificates, a federal court ruled Wednesday.
In response to a lawsuit brought by four transgender people, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio found Ohio’s birth certificate rule imposed by the state Department of Health and the Office of Vital Statistics is unconstitutional.
The state was weighing an appeal.
Judge Michael Watson rejected the state of Ohio’s arguments that the policy helped prevent fraud and maintain a historically accurate record of its citizenry. He called such justifications “nothing more than thinly veiled post-hoc rationales to deflect from the discriminatory impact of the policy.”
The court sided with the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio and Lambda Legal, which argued on behalf of plaintiffs that the state’s requirement prevents transgender people from obtaining a document essential to everyday living and subjects them to discrimination and potential violence.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/ohio-2e9e639965c3938e11330eeea0ba31c6
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