Federal appeals court says there is no fundamental right to change one’s sex on a birth certificate

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal appeals court panel has ruled that Tennessee does not unconstitutionally discriminate against transgender people by not allowing them to change the sex designation on their birth certificates. In a 2-1 ruling on Friday, the majority opinion of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found, “There is no fundamental right to a birth certificate recording gender identity instead of biological sex.” The opinion notes that only 11 states currently allow a people to change their birth certificates based solely on a declaration of their gender identity. That is what the plaintiffs are asking for in Tennessee.