ACLU-MT, ACLU, and Nixon Peabody LLP Statement on the State’s Refusal to Comply with the Preliminary Injunction in Marquez v. State

BILLINGS, MT – Nearly one month after a state district court granted a preliminary injunction in Marquez v. State of Montana, the State is still refusing to comply.

On April 21, 2022, a Yellowstone County District Court ordered the state to stop enforcing SB 280, a law passed last year that restricts how and when the gender marker on a Montana birth certificate can be changed, and to revert to the previous procedure in place for updating the gender marker on a birth certificate. That procedure allowed for transgender Montanans to update the gender marker on their birth certificate through various means, including completion of a simple attestation form.

The following statement was issued by the ACLU of Montana, the ACLU Foundation LGBTQ & HIV Project, and Nixon Peabody LLP:

“We have continued to be patient in allowing the State time to comply with the court ordered preliminary injunction. However, close to one month has passed and the State’s willful indifference to the court order is inexcusable. The procedure in place prior to the passage of SB 280 was simple and efficient and administered without incident for years.

“The fact that the State refuses to revert to the previous processes evidences its lack of respect for the judiciary and utter disregard for the transgender Montanans who seek to have a birth certificate that accurately indicates what they know their sex to be. If the State continues to violate the preliminary injunction, we will have no choice but to seek relief from the Court.”

This case was filed by Akilah Lane and Alex Rate of the ACLU of Montana, Jon Davidson of the ACLU Foundation LGBTQ & HIV Project, and F. Thomas Hecht, Tina B. Solis, and Seth A. Horvath from Nixon Peabody LLP.