This example reflects the stories of two current plaintiffs being represented by the clinic, in collaboration with the ACLU of West Virginia and the ACLU LGBT and HIV Project. “It’s a matter of privacy and dignity for our clients,” said Clay Hackney, JD ‘22, a student in the Harvard LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic. With no way to obtain a birth certificate that affirms their gender identity without flagging the change, a daily errand turns potentially dangerous. According to current West Virginia law, their birth certificate contains either the incorrect gender marker or the corrected gender marker with an indication that it’s been amended, thus outing the individual in the public space. Just like the person at the window beside them, they present their birth certificate.
A transgender individual heads to their local DMV for a standard appointment – a registration renewal or driver’s license issuance.
