Puerto Rico sued to allow trans people to legally change gender on birth certificates
A federal lawsuit has been filed against Puerto Rico to push the country to allow transgender people to legally change their gender on birth certificates.
The lawsuit, filed by Lambda Legal, states that the country’s policy which doesn’t allow trans people to alter their birth certificates is in breach of another law.
The law the organisation says is it is in breach of is one which allows trans people to legally change their gender on driving licences.
Lambda Legal also states that Puerto Rico’s policy which doesn’t allow birth certificates to be changed is in breach of First Amendment rights to free speech.
The organisation filed the lawsuit on Thursday.
At the same time, a group of trans activists staged a protest against an anti-trans bill being heard in the Senate.
It would scrap the rights of trans people to use bathrooms and choose gendered uniforms which match their gender identity.
Last year the country erected the first LGBT monument to the victims of the massacre in Orlando.
Back in 2015, Puerto Rico’s Education Minister announced changes to a school uniform code that lets boys wear skirts.
A federal court back in 2016 smacked down a judge who tried to re-enforce a ban on same-sex marriage in spite of the Supreme Court ruling.
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States and is not fully recognised as a US state.
