Story perspectives

Lawsuits temporarily restore trans birth-certificate recognition in Montana

9/1/2026

Summary

States Ban Recognition

Only 40 states currently recognize trans people's gender on birth certificates.
Republican-run states banned changes in Oklahoma (2021), Montana (2022), Kansas (2023), Florida and Texas (2024).
Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, South Dakota, and Wyoming added bans between 2025 and 2026.
Lawsuits have overturned bans in Montana and West Virginia, temporarily restoring recognition there.
Illinois passed the first trans birth-certificate law in 1955 with a 107-2 House vote.

Summary

Cieslik Links Saints

Emma Cieslik published an essay in the National Catholic Reporter linking medieval saints to modern trans Catholics during August 2026.
Medieval historians cited in the piece identify certain saints as transgender, challenging gender binaries.
Scholar Gutt describes a saint’s miraculous transformation from woman to man as literal, not metaphorical.
Transgender Catholic Max Kuzma says the saint stories give him role models and a timeless community.

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States Ban Recognition

Only 40 states currently recognize trans people's gender on birth certificates.
Republican-run states banned changes in Oklahoma (2021), Montana (2022), Kansas (2023), Florida and Texas (2024).
Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, South Dakota, and Wyoming added bans between 2025 and 2026.
Lawsuits have overturned bans in Montana and West Virginia, temporarily restoring recognition there.
Illinois passed the first trans birth-certificate law in 1955 with a 107-2 House vote.

1 / 2