On December 16th 2020, the U.S. District Court of Ohio made the historic ruling of Ray v. McCloud that struck down a previous law that prohibited trans individuals from changing their gender markers legally.
At the time of this case, Ohio was only one of three states, along with Kansas and Tennessee, that prohibited changes in gender markings.
See also: Pride-A Month-Long Celebration Of The LGBTQ+ Community, History, Diversity, and Love.
Since the ruling Kansas has made strides and has started issuing changed birth certificates, however, transgender individuals in Tennessee still cannot amend their sex on their birth certificate.
The court ruling in Ohio is a win for trans people, including non-binary trans individuals, who can take steps to claim their identities, and changing their names and genders legally is a great place to start.
In fact, if you are trans in the state of Ohio you can legally change your name, apply for a new government ID card, Passport, change your social security records, and apply for a change of name and/or gender marker (including the choice of the gender-neutral “X” identifier) on your birth certificate.
There are still many hoops that transgender individuals have to go through to get these changes done, but now it is possible for them to begin the process if they chose.
Section One: Legal Name Change
In order to have a legal name change in the state of Ohio, individuals can submit a court order in probate court (these procedures vary by county), proof of a newspaper advertisement, and a hearing in court.
Section Two: Changing Name and Gender on ID Card
Once individuals have legally changed their names, they can bring this proof, a completed “Declaration of Gender Change” form, and a copy of their existing ID card to their local Ohio Department of Public Safety Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV).
Section Three: Name Change and Gender Markers on Birth Certificate
Once a trans individual has obtained an order from a probate court for a change of their birth certificate, the individual must then submit an application for a certified copy of their birth certificate with the Ohio Department of Health, and said birth certificate can have a name change and a gender change which includes the option for non-binary individuals to mark the gender-neutral “X” identifier.
Section Four: Social Security and Passport Record Change
If a trans person then hopes to change passport records they must reapply for a new passport with proof of U.S. Citizenship, and afterward, they can submit this change in their passport in order to reapply for a Social Security card that includes their correct gender or non-binary trans people can opt for the gender-neutral “X” marker.
Section Five: The Ripple Effect of Ray v. McCloud / Conclusion
Allowing trans individuals to make this change is more important than we realize, as one-third of trans people in the US who have shown an ID document with a gender that conflicted with their perceived gender have faced harassment, discrimination, have been denied services, or even faced assault (according to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey). The implications of this ruling are to protect transgender individuals from danger, as the fight for trans rights is far from over.
