The ACLU of Indiana filed a class action lawsuit against Gov. Mike Braun.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on March 28 in response to an executive order Braun signed on March 4. Executive Order 25-36 prevents people born in Indiana from changing the gender marker on their certificates and is modeled after a similar order signed by President Donald Trump.
The ACLU of Indiana filed the lawsuit on behalf of transgender Hoosiers — or the putative class most affected by the executive order — naming a transgender girl born in Indiana and currently residing in Ohio as the plaintiff. Braun and Larry K. Ervine, State Registrar and Division Director of Vital Records of the Indiana Department of Health, are named defendants.
“Transgender Hoosiers have a right to accurate birth certificates to live safely and authentically,” Ken Falk, ACLU of Indiana legal director, said in a statement. “Court-ordered changes to birth certificates are common for a number of reasons, and to deny trans people the right to change these important documents is discrimination.”
READ MORE: Indiana Senate Bill 287 sparks debate: Officials react to partisan school board proposal
Birth certificates are a fundamentally important form of identification necessary for obtaining a driver’s license, opening a bank account, enrolling in school and applying for public benefits.
In the state of Indiana, a court order is required to receive a new birth certificate after a name change or with the names of new parents after an adoption, according to the Indiana Department of Health. Previously, a court order allowed Hoosiers to change the gender maker on their birth certificate, according to a press release.
The lawsuit claims Ervine is “refusing to process gender marker changes for persons whose gender does not match their sex as defined by Governor Braun and the Executive Order, even if a state court has ordered the change.”
The lawsuit also outlines how Braun’s executive order violates privacy rights and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by forcing transgender Hoosiers to “disclose their transgender status to persons who might not otherwise be aware of that status,” according to a press release.
“While the Governor is free to have his opinions about transgender and gender-diverse persons, the Executive Order and its implementation is a targeted attempt to impose hardships on a disfavored group and represents discrimination on the grounds of both sex and transgender status,” the lawsuit states. “This violates equal protection no matter what level of scrutiny is applied.”
For more information about the ACLU of Indiana or to read a copy of the complaint, visit aclu-in.org.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Chloe McGowan is the Arts & Culture Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Columbus, OH, Chloe graduated with a degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a former IndyStar Pulliam Fellow, and her previous work includes freelancing for Indy Maven, Assistant Arts & Life Editor for The Lantern, and editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Chloe enjoys covering all things arts and culture — from local music, visual art, dance, theater and film, as well as minority-owned businesses. In her free time, Chloe enjoys reading, cooking and keeping her plants alive.
