COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Four transgender people challenging an Ohio rule preventing people from changing the gender listings on their birth certificates have won their day in court.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson denied the state's request that the lawsuit filed by the ACLU, Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Ohio be dismissed.
The lawsuit contends the birth certificate rule imposed by the state Department of Health and the Office of Vital Statistics is unconstitutional.
Most states already allow such changes. Ohio and Tennessee are the last two to prohibit them.
A federal lawsuit challenging Tennessee's rule was filed in April. Kansas ended a federal lawsuit there in June, when Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly struck a deal by agreeing to allow gender identity changes on Kansas birth certificates.
Watson ruled this month.
