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Lambda Legal and co-counsel Johanna Emmanuelli Huertas today urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to affirm a lower court ruling finding that Puerto Rico’s denial of birth certificates to nonbinary people congruent with their nonbinary identities violated the U.S. Constitution. Lambda Legal represents six nonbinary plaintiffs born in Puerto Rico in the appeal of their district court victory in their case challenging the denial of gender markers other than Male or Female on their Puerto Rican birth certificates. Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Senior Counsel and Health Care Strategist, Lambda Legal, released the following statement after oral argument concluded.
“Today, we urged the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to affirm what the district court below already made clear: that Puerto Rico cannot single out nonbinary people for unequal treatment and deny them the same access to accurate identity birth certificates that everyone else receives. Consistent with Puerto Rico’s Civil Code, birth certificates in Puerto Rico, which are distinct from a person’s original birth record, are not merely records of historical facts — they are essential documents that represent who a person is. In Puerto Rico, people need them to navigate life, from work, study, and even exercise basic fundamental rights, like registering to vote or under the Second Amendment. To deny nonbinary Puerto Ricans documentation that is congruent with who they are erases their identities and forces them to carry inaccurate documentation.
“Since 2018, Puerto Rico has recognized that gender can be updated on birth certificates for transgender people who are male or female, after Lambda Legal won a similar lawsuit, Arroyo Gonzalez v. Roselló Nevares. Thereafter, Puerto Rico adopted a new Civil Code in 2020 that, rightly, codifies the ability of people to obtain identification birth certificates in a manner that accurately reflects their gender. Excluding nonbinary people from that same access to accurate birth certificates is unjustifiable and unconstitutional. There is no legitimate government interest in forcing nonbinary people to carry documents that misrepresent who they are.
“This case asks the court to reaffirm core constitutional principles — that the government may not erase people’s identities, enforce outdated stereotypes, or impose harm on a politically vulnerable group without reason. Nonbinary people exist, their lives matter, and the Constitution protects their right to be recognized with dignity and equality under the law.”
Lead plaintiff, Ínaru Nadia de la Fuente Díaz, released the following statement:
“This case is about us as nonbinary Puerto Ricans being able to have identity documents that are congruent with our identities. Puerto Rico does not allow us to have identification birth certificates that are congruent with our nonbinary identities and forces us to choose between masculine and feminine gender markers that inaccurately reflect who we are. We deserve the same dignity and respect that is afforded to all other people.”