ACLU, West Virginia settle gender marker case
CHARLESTON, WV — Following a lawsuit from ACLU, ACLU of West Virginia, and the Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Vital Registration Office has introduced more accessible and safer policies for transgender people seeking to amend their birth certificates. “This is a major victory for the thousands of transgender West Virginians who will now be able to obtain accurate birth certificates to help them navigate their lives more safely,” said Joseph Cohen, executive director of the ACLU of West Virginia. “But we know our work is not yet finished.
Nonbinary West Virginians are still unable to obtain a birth certificate that accurately reflects their gender. Since April of this year, U.S.
citizens have been able to select an X gender marker on passport applications. We will continue to work with our partners to update West Virginia’s policies so that all West Virginians can have the accurate identity documents they need.” Access to accurate identity documents remains a critical issue for all people but especially transgender people.
For years, the West Virginia Vital Registration Office required transgender applicants seeking to amend the gender marker on their West Virginia birth certificate to produce a circuit court order directing the amendment.
