NC Policy Watch: “A group of transgender people and their families filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday over how North Carolina handles people receiving birth certificates that reflect their gender identity.
State law currently allows North Carolinians born in the state to legally change the gender designation on their birth certificate only if they undergo gender affirming surgery. But for a variety of reasons many transgender people elect not to have any surgical procedures related to their transition. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, says the state’s requirement violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment.
Lillith Campos, a transgender woman from Jacksonville, is one of the suit’s plaintiffs along with two transgender minors represented by their parents.
“It is wrong for North Carolina to require that I obtain surgery in order for them to recognize me as the woman I am,” Campos said. “As a trans woman, having incorrect documentation makes me feel like a second-class citizen because I am denied the same rights as the rest of the population. It just makes me feel like I am ‘less than’ before the eyes of the state.””