By Peyton Majors
Christian Action League
August 11, 2022
Members and activists within the North Carolina transgender community say they are celebrating a court judgment that allows them to change the sex on their birth certificates but believe it’s only the first step of what needs to be done — including the adding of a third, “non-binary,” option.
Under a 1975 North Carolina law, sex-reassignment surgery previously was required in order to change one’s sex from male to female, or vice versa, on a birth certificate. But under the agreement between state officials and three transgender individuals who had filed suit, the law no longer will be enforced.
Ashleigh Hibbard, a trans individual from Sanford, N.C., who identifies as “gender fluid,” called the judgment a good first step.
“They have to have a third gender option,” Hibbard told The Fayetteville Observer, referencing a change Hibbard supports to state law. “Right now it’s only ‘male’ or ‘female.’ So, unless they have a third gender — like even ‘gender non-conforming’ would be great — but until they do, people like me or nonbinaries, it’s not going to help them, not as much.”
“Nonbinary” is a term that refers to people who don’t identify as male or female.
“If you look at the umbrella, nonbinary and genderfluid and all that fall under trans. But we’re not really trans — we fluctuate or we stay in between or combination or just don’t conform,” Hibbard said. “Identifying as one or the other when you’re trans is fine. When you’re fluid, it’s really kind of a new concept that people don’t get right.”
A total of 16 states, along with the Discrict of Columbia, allow individuals to select an “X” nonbinary option on their birth certificate. In April, Oklahoma became the first state to ban the recognition of such birth certificates.
The number of genders claimed by the transgender community continues to grow, although Healthline.com lists 68, including “demigirl” (someone who only partially identifies with being a girl, woman, womxn or feminine), “agender” (someone who doesn’t identify with the idea or experience of having a gender) and “pangender” (someone who experiences all or many gender identities).
The lawsuit was filed in 2021 on behalf of the three individuals by Lambda Legal, a New York-based LGBT advocacy group. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services chose to settle the lawsuit rather than fight it in court. U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs, an Obama nominee, signed the consent judgment in June.
Under the agreement, trans-identifying individuals can change their birth certificates by submitting a sworn statement accompanied by one of three forms of ID: a North Carolina driver’s license; a U.S. passport; or a “certification signed by a physician, psychiatrist, physician’s assistant, licensed therapist, counselor, psychologist, case worker, or social worker stating, based on their professional opinion, the gender identity of the registrant,” according to the language of the agreement.
“I think it’s a great progression,” a Sanford trans individual named “Gabrielle” told the Observer. “Gender-affirming surgery is not only expensive, but some trans individuals can’t go through with it. I think it’s good, I think it’s great.”
Others in the trans community agreed.
“This judgment protects our trans siblings from another attempt to divide, marginalize, and create impediments to their right to freedom, privacy, and the pursuit of personal happiness,” Lauren Mathers, executive director of Sandhills Pride, told the Observer. “This judgment will positively affect the mental and physical health outcomes for members of the transgender community.”
But Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League said, “There is absolutely no convincing scientific evidence that these gender options are in any way biologically determined, neither are they immutable. When we start basing public records, something as fundamental as a birth certificate on something as purely subjective as ‘gender identity,’ we are unquestionably headed for insurmountable difficulties that will be arbitrary and even whimsical in their results.”
Rev. Creech added his words were not intended with animus. However, he insisted, “Truth is to the soul what light is to the body. North is north in every generation. It is impossible to navigate effectively in a society where one has a right to his own facts. It is natural for us to love the daylight, unnatural for us to shun it,” said Rev. Creech.