The battle for proper identification documents is not new to the transgender community. The first known petition to a court for the change of name and sex on a birth certificate by a transgender petitioner was filed in 1966. The petitioner was denied changes to their birth certificate. In recent years, transgender birth certificate issues have come to the forefront of public attention through the “bathroom bill” controversies. Transgender students in some states have been denied access to bathrooms in their schools because the sex listed on their birth certificates did not match their gender identity. Because of the recent lift of the ban on transgender service members serving in the U.S. military, information on birth certificates and the state rules governing a legal sex change on a birth certificate are more prominent than ever before.
Transgender service members have long served in the U.S. military, but the open service of transgender service members is a new phenomenon. For example, Albert Cashier covertly lived as a man for around seventy years and served honorably in the Civil War. Christine Jorgenson, a WWII veteran, was one of the first widely known transgender women to have sex-reassignment surgery following her military service. Monica Helms, a Navy submariner in the 1970s, transitioned following her service and is the creator of the transgender pride flag. We will likely never know how many other transgender service members contributed to their country through their military service because up until the last decade, open service was forbidden.
Considering the recent focus on transgender birth certificates and military service, this Note examines how state birth certificate laws hinder transgender service members openly serving in the U.S. military by restricting their fundamental rights provided to them under the Constitution. Specifically, this Note focuses on the state of Missouri’s statute that governs the change of sex on a Missouri-issued birth certificate and how the statute affects transgender service members with a Missouri-issued birth certificate serving in the Missouri Army National Guard.
This Note begins with an overview of gender transitioning, the history of the birth certificate in the United States, and the timeline of removal of the ban on open transgender service in the U.S. military. Next, this Note analyzes the current policy on transgender service issued by the Department of Defense (DoD) and how the Missouri birth certificate statute encumbers the readiness of the Missouri Army National Guard and violates transgender service members’ fundamental rights. Finally, this Note concludes with proposed solutions Missouri legislators may adopt to relieve undue burdens on their transgender citizens and their state’s military force.
The Missouri birth certificate statute hinders the transition process for transgender service members serving in the Missouri Army National Guard, reducing the overall readiness of the force, because it: (1) deters younger citizens born in Missouri who might want to enlist, (2) prevents service members from formally transitioning in the military if they do not want to get gender-affirming surgery, and (3) increases the risk that transgender service members will experience an increase in harassment or violence because Missouri issues an amended birth certificate.