Gore v. Lee

Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville on behalf of four transgender people born in Tennessee – Kayla Gore, Jason Scott, and two plaintiffs identified by their initials, L.G. and K.N. With this lawsuit, Tennessee is the fifth jurisdiction with a categorical exclusion on birth certificates that Lambda Legal has challenged, including Puerto Rico and Idaho, where the civil rights organization secured victories in court that prompted policy changes.

In the lawsuit, Lambda Legal argues that denying transgender people in Tennessee the ability to obtain accurate birth certificates violates the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit also argues that forcing transgender people through their birth certificates to identify with a sex that is not who they are violates their free speech rights under the First Amendment.