ACLU Applauds New N.C. Guidelines for Listing Same-Sex Spouses on Children’s Birth Certificates
RALEIGH – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of North Carolina is applauding new guidelines issued by North Carolina officials that allow the same-sex spouse of a woman who gives birth to a child during the marriage to be listed as a parent on the child’s birth certificate. The ACLU worked with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in developing the new guidelines.
“These new guidelines are important because they reflect North Carolina’s recognition that lesbian spouses can both be legal parents to children born to the couple,” said Chris Brook, Legal Director of the ACLU of North Carolina. “Being able to have birth certificates that accurately reflect a child’s family will have important practical and psychological benefits for families. Married lesbian couples who have children will no longer face the challenge of trying to register their kids for school or get them a Social Security card without a birth certificate naming both parents, and their children will not have the insecurity of seeing only one of their two parents on their birth certificate.”
North Carolina Vital Records, which is responsible for the issuance of birth certificates and is housed within DHHS, allows a non-biological father to be listed on the birth certificate of a child born to his wife through donor sperm. Before the new guidelines were issued, married lesbian couples who had children the same way were told that the non-biological parent could not be listed on their child’s birth certificate upon the birth of the child. The ACLU worked with DHHS on the policy change after being contacted by many affected couples in the wake of North Carolina’s recognition of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in October 2014.
Vital Records distributed new policy guidance and forms to Birth Registrars statewide earlier this week. Families who are affected by or have questions about the new policy are encouraged to call North Carolina Vital Records at 919-792-5991.
The ACLU of North Carolina is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving and expanding the guarantees of individual liberty found in the United States and North Carolina Constitutions and related federal and state civil rights laws. With more than 12,000 members and supporters throughout the state and an office located in Raleigh, the organization achieves its mission through advocacy, public education, community outreach, and when necessary, litigation. Visit for more information.
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
President Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender YouthPresident Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender Youth
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Montana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's LicensesMontana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's Licenses
HELENA, Mont. – A Montana court has granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state of Montana from enforcing policies that bar transgender people from obtaining accurate sex designations on their birth certificates and driver’s licenses. After a prior restriction on amendments of birth certificates was struck down by the courts, in early 2024 the state of Montana enacted a new rule that categorically bars transgender Montanans from correcting the sex designation on their birth certificates. Around the same time, the Montana Department of Justice adopted a policy similarly restricting amendment of driver’s licenses. The plaintiffs challenged these policies in state district court, arguing that they violate various constitutional provisions, including the right to equal protection of the law. In a recent Montana Supreme Court decision, two justices concluded that discrimination on the basis of transgender status – as the state is engaging in here – is a form of sex discrimination that violates the Montana Constitution’s equal protection clause. The plaintiffs, two transgender women, are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Montana, and Nixon Peabody LLP. Plaintiff Jessica Kalarchik, a veteran who served in the United States Army for 31 years, said: “After finally being able to live my life openly as the woman I know myself to be, I am frustrated that my birth state, Montana, wants me to carry around a birth certificate that incorrectly lists my sex as male. I live my life openly as a woman, I am treated as a woman in my daily life, and there is no reason I should be forced to carry a birth certificate that incorrectly identifies me as male. Fortunately, the court agrees that this ridiculous policy should not be in effect.” “Once again the State of Montana chose to adopt a draconian policy that is clearly intended to marginalize transgender Montanans, only for that discriminatory action to be blocked by the courts,” said Akilah Deernose, executive director for the ACLU of Montana. “Here in Montana we treasure our right to privacy and to live our lives free from governmental intrusion. The State of Montana clearly has not learned any lessons from the past few years, where courts have repeatedly struck down unconstitutional laws targeting transgender Montanans.” “Forcing anyone to carry documents that contradict their identity unjustly violates their rights to privacy, equal treatment, and not being compelled to convey a government message about their sex that they disagree with,” said Malita Picasso, staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “Such a policy marks transgender people for further mistreatment and discrimination, essentially requiring them to carry papers that out them as transgender any time they need to provide identity documents. Fortunately, the court has refused to allow the state of Montana to subvert the freedom of transgender Montanans to control their own identity as this case goes forward.” In granting the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the court held, “[i]f the challenged state actions discriminate against transgender individuals on the basis of their transgender status, they also necessarily discriminate the basis of sex.” The state has the option of appealing the district court’s ruling to the Montana Supreme Court, but the underlying case will proceed in district court. A trial has not yet been scheduled. -
FloridaDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
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IdahoDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Robinson v. LabradorRobinson v. Labrador
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