Two Wins Are Better Than One

We had two big wins that other day, both of them were about birth certificates. The first was in Indiana, in a press release Transgender Law Center said,

December 5, 2014 – Transgender Law Center celebrated the decision issued yesterday by the Indiana Court of Appeals recognizing the legal change of gender of a transgender man. The decision reversed a lower court ruling that had denied the request because no Indiana statute addresses courts’ authority to issue such orders. Transgender Law Center represented the man, known in court filings only as “John Doe,” along with the pro bono assistance of the law firm of Faegre Baker Daniels.
[…]
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed. The decision issued today by a unanimous three-judge panel noted that “the vast majority of states, including Indiana” have long allowed legal gender changes. While Indiana does not have a specific statute permitting changes of gender on birth certificates, the court held that under the Indiana statute that provides “general authority for the amendment of birth certificates,” as well as the “inherent equity power” of courts, the trial court did have authority to grant the order.

The appeals court further noted that a trial court’s “ultimate focus” in considering such an order “should be on whether the petition is made in good faith and not for a fraudulent or unlawful purpose”—not on whether the person has had any particular type of medical treatment, such as surgery. The Court of Appeals instructed the trial court to issue an order directing the state health department to amend Doe’s birth certificate “to reflect his male gender.”

Meanwhile New York City’s City Council passed a bill that allow birth certificate to be changed without surgery bring the city in-line with the state policy.

New York's Transgender Residents Will Now Be Able To Change Birth Certificate Sex Designation Without Surgery
The Huffington Post
By Curtis M. Wong
Posted: 12/08/2014

Members of New York's transgender community and advocates are praising the city council's vote to pass legislation making it easier for residents to correct the sex designation on their birth certificates.

The bill, which passed passed [sic] 39-4 with three abstentions, will allow transgender New Yorkers to change the birth certificate designation without proof they have had gender confirmation surgery, officials from the Empire State Pride Agenda confirmed to The Huffington Post in an email statement.

Even though it looks like the bill had by-partisan support, the council only have three Republicans on it.