Montana judge blocks rule that prevented... changing their sex on documents

Jessica_Rose · December 17, 2024, 01:38:55 PM

Montana judge blocks rule that prevented transgender people from changing their sex on documents

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/montana-judge-blocks-rule-that-prevented-transgender-people-from-changing-their-sex-on-documents/ar-AA1w1T0o?ocid=windirect&cvid=8746699fb4984b99bb8e76428e16fbb4&ei=51

Story by AMY BETH HANSON (17 Dec 2024)

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A state judge in Montana has temporarily blocked policies that prevented transgender people from changing the sex designation on their birth certificates and driver's licenses.

District Judge Mike Menahan issued his order Monday, blocking the rule while the case moves through the courts.

Menahan said it was not necessary at this point in the litigation to determine whether transgender Montanans constitute a special class on the basis of their transgender status, but he disagreed with the state's argument that discrimination on the basis of transgender status is not discrimination on the basis of sex.

"If the challenged state actions discriminate against transgender individuals on the basis of their transgender status, they also necessarily discriminate on the basis of sex," he wrote.

The case was filed in April by two transgender women on behalf of themselves and others who have been unable to obtain documents "that accurately reflect their sex," the complaint said.

One rule blocks transgender people born in Montana from changing the sex designation on their birth certificate. Another policy prevents transgender residents from changing the sex on their driver's licenses without an amended birth certificate — which they can't obtain if they were born in Montana.

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Montana judge blocks rule that prevented... changing their sex on documents

Jessica_Rose