On Monday a federal district court judge in Puerto Rico struck down a Commonwealth policy that prevented transgender people born in Puerto Rico from changing the gender marker on their birth certificates.
Lambda Legal challenged Puerto Rico’s categorical ban on corrections to the gender marker in birth certificates last April in a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit.
This is a tremendous victory for our clients and all transgender people born in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican government must now allow transgender Puerto Ricans to change the gender markers on their birth certificates so that they accurately reflect and affirm their identities.
The Commonwealth’s categorical ban was not only discriminatory; it also was a relic from the past reflecting archaic views about who we are as a people and a society. A birth certificate is an essential identity document. It is vital for identity documents to accurately reflect who we are. We are pleased that the court recognized that the government cannot interfere with transgender people’s ability to live as their authentic selves and that attempts to do so are unconstitutional.
--Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Lambda Legal
In granting Lambda Legal’s motion for summary judgment, the Court found the current birth certificate policy to be unconstitutional, in part, because “the forced disclosure of plaintiffs’ transgender status violates their fundamental right to informational privacy.” The Court will issue a separate Opinion and Order in which it will outline its factual findings and conclusions of law, as well as the method or relief required to correct the gender marker on plaintiffs’ birth certificates to accurately reflect their gender identity, without revealing their transgender status.
Plaintiffs in the case were Daniela Arroyo González, Victoria Rodríguez Roldán and a transgender man identified only as J.G., as well as the organization Puerto Rico Para Tod@s. The argument is that denying transgender Puerto Ricans access to accurate birth certificates violates the First Amendment as well as the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the US Constitution.
This is an important step forward in the fight for the rights of transgender people in Puerto Rico. It is a huge relief to finally have an accurate birth certificate that is a true reflection of who I am. It makes me feel safer and like my country finally recognizes me, respects me, and protects my identity as a woman. As of today, trans people in Puerto Rico are more free. This is the right decision.
--Daniela Arroyo-González
Today, transgender Puerto Ricans are closer to the equal protection under the law that is promised in the Constitution. We are grateful for the transgender plaintiffs in this case for their courage and we are proud to have partnered, once again, with Lambda Legal in advancing equal rights for LGBT Puerto Ricans. We must not rest until full equality is achieved for all LGBT people in Puerto Rico and elsewhere.
--Pedro Julio Serrano, founder and president of Puerto Rico Para Tod@s