On February 24, 2017, BALIF joined 11 other LGBT rights groups and advocacy organizations in submitting an amicus brief in federal district court in Doe v. Arrisi, a case challenging New Jersey’s requirement that people seeking to change the gender marker on their birth certificate must first submit proof that they have had sex reassignment/gender confirmation surgery. The plaintiff also raises disability discrimination claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The amicus brief, filed in support of the plaintiff's opposition to New Jersey’s motion to dismiss, addresses the importance of allowing people to bring claims under the ADA when they have experienced discrimination on the basis of gender dysphoria. It argues that the ADA’s explicit exclusion of “transsexualism” and “gender identity disorders,” as a matter of statutory interpretation, does not exclude people with gender dysphoria. The brief also argues in the alternative that the ADA’s exclusion is unconstitutional because it violates the guarantee of equal protection.
Julie Wilensky, chair of BALIF’s Amicus Committee, said, “BALIF is thrilled to join this brief on an important topic at the intersection of transgender rights and disability rights – the ADA’s exclusion of gender identity disorders and the moral animus behind that exclusion.”
Click here to read the brief.
Amici are represented by Professor Kevin Barry and the Quinnipiac University School of Law Legal Clinic.
