Over the last
year-and-a-half, the state’s Republican Governor Greg Gianforte has targeted
the trans community with an array of harmful bills.
In May
2021, he
signed the ‘Save Women’s Sports Act’ into law – which bans
transgender girls and women from participating in sports.
That same
year, Gianforte introduced Senate Bill 280, which set up new hurdles for trans
individuals looking to change their birth certificates.
Under the
legislation, citizens are required to present a court order proving that they
underwent gender-affirming surgery.
Now in 2022,
the Gianforte administration is making it even harder for trans people to
legally change their gender identity.
On 9 September,
the state’s Public Health Department announced that birth certificates could
only be adjusted if there was a “scrivener’s error or a data entry error” or if
the individual’s sex was misidentified at birth.
Because of the
rule’s strict requirements, trans people are effectively banned from changing
the legal document to align with their gender identity.
The archaic
new policy comes a year after two trans women sued the state over Senate Bill
280.
“Denying me an
accurate birth certificate places me at risk of embarrassment or even violence
every time I’m required to present my birth certificate because it incorrectly
identifies me as male,” one of the plaintiffs said in a statement.
In light of
the aforementioned lawsuit, Judge Michael Moses issued a temporary injunction
on the legislation – which allowed trans individuals to proceed with changing
their birth certificates as normal.
In response to
the harmful anti-trans rule, LGBTQ+ activists have slammed the Department of
Public Health and Gianforte in various statements.
“They have
gone against the advice of physical and mental health experts, teachers,
parents and affected community members,” said Shawn Reagor of the Montana Human Rights Network.
“Montanans
made their will clear in the public comment process, and the justification the
Gianforte administration has given for flying in the face of that will can most
generously be described as gaslighting and misleading.”
Dr. Lauren
Wilson, vice president of Montana’s chapter for the American Academy of
Paediatrics, echoed similar sentiments in a statement to Montana Free Press.
“There is
ample and strong evidence that the ability to socially transition (which
involves living fully in their gender, and having matching documentation at
school and work) improves mental health outcomes for transgender individuals,”
she explained.
“Allowing
transgender people to update their documentation has been shown to be
beneficial to their well-being and safety, and doesn’t hurt anyone else.”
According
to PBS,
the court is set to hear arguments regarding the Senate Bill 280 case in the
coming days.
SOURCE: GAY TIMES
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