CLEVELAND — An attorney for the mothers of three transgender teens in Ohio said in a federal lawsuit filed Friday that a county judge has shown a disturbing pattern and practice of not allowing transgender children to legally change their names, refusals that can prove harmful and violates their constitutional right to equal protection.
The lawsuit names Joseph Kirby, the Probate and Juvenile Court judge in Warren County near Cincinnati. Kirby’s bailiff said Friday the judge was out of town and unavailable for comment.
Stephanie Whitaker, of Mason, sued on behalf of her 15-year-old son Elliott after Kirby in June refused to allow him to change his name from Heidi, saying he should come back when he turns 18. Jennifer Saul sued to protect her 15-year-old son James, who has a hearing Aug. 14 before Kirby to change his name from Jenna. A woman listed in the lawsuit as Jane Doe says her 17-year-old son fears that Kirby will reject his name change petition, which hasn’t yet been filed.
All three teens have been receiving therapy and medical treatment for gender dysphoria with their doctors fully supporting their name changes.
The lawsuit said Kirby refused to grant two other transgender teens name changes this year because they are minors. The only approval for a transgender minor this year in Warren County came from a court magistrate.
“Forcing children to wait until they’re 18 to change their names increases their risk of being outed and bullied, having violence perpetrated against them and having depressive symptoms,” attorney Joshua Langdon said.
It’s especially important for transgender children to be allowed to use their new names on their driver’s licenses, school records and college applications, Langdon said. He added that studies show the more times transgender children are “dead named” – referred to by their birth names – the higher the risk of suicide attempts.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.