Montana to allow transgender people to change birth record

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — After months of defiance, Montana’s health department said it will follow a judge’s ruling and temporarily allow transgender people to change the gender on their birth certificates. In a written order Monday morning (Sept. 19, 2022), the judge said state health officials had made “calculated violations” of his order earlier this year to temporarily stop enforcing a state law that would prevent transgender people from changing the gender on their birth certificate. The health department passed a rule saying no one could change the sex on their birth certificate unless there was a clerical error. Under the order, transgender residents can obtain a corrected birth certificate by submitting a sworn affidavit to the health department.