Transgender Ohioans rush to update legal documents

Across the state, LGBTQ+ organizations are hosting massive legal clinics in a rush to update transgender Ohioans’ birth certificates, passports and other legal documents ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration.

On the campaign trail, Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance spent months discussing transgender Americans, often citing inaccurate information regarding gender-affirming health care and stirring anti-transgender sentiment among supporters.

In recent public appearances, Trump has vowed to “stop the transgender lunacy,” with an executive order to limit transgender Americans’ civil rights on his first day in office.

In response, organizers are partnering with attorneys and probate courts across the state, assisting hundreds of transgender Ohioans in updating their birth certificates, passports and other legal documents via massive legal clinics complete with financial assistance.

Pop-up clinics proliferate, filling a void 

The current demand for legal services among trans Ohioans appears to be unprecedented.

Last month, civil rights advocacy group TransOhio hosted a pop-up legal clinic in partnership with the Franklin County Probate Court, reportedly processing at least 258 birth certificate name changes and gender-marker correction applications in a single day.

TransOhio executive director Dara Adkison said the group processes financial aid applications on site, and awarded more than $15,000 in financial assistance to cover the costs of filing.

“The usual community need for these services are supported by our monthly virtual clinics, which is a collaborative effort with Equitas Health, local community groups and volunteer-allied attorneys,” Adkison said. Now, community needs are “substantially different,” prompting the group to organize pop-up clinics across the state.

The group is set to partner with the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland to host a passport clinic at the Center’s location in Gordon Square on January 11, and has several more pop-up clinics scheduled in the coming weeks.

On that same day, more than 100 miles south, a group of LGBTQ+ organizations – including PFLAG Dayton and the Kettering Pride Coalition – will host a legal workshop in partnership with Harmony Creek Church in Dayton.

Adkison has also encouraged trans Ohioans to take advantage of a January 6 legal clinic at the Cuyahoga County Probate Court in Cleveland and a January 24 clinic at the Summit County Probate Court in Akron.

Keeping transgender people safe

Transgender Americans experience discrimination in housing, employment, health care and educational settings at far higher rates than their cisgender peers.

Names and gender markers that are inconsistent across legal documents – including drivers licenses, passports and social security cards – can out transgender people in unsafe or inappropriate situations, increasing their risk of experiencing unemployment, housing instability and physical and sexual violence in their lifetimes.

With consistent legal documents, transgender people experience improved health outcomes and are able to access housing, employment and health care with fewer risks and roadblocks.

Experts like Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, and Heron Greeensmith, deputy director of policy at the Transgender Law Center, have said they are unsure how the Trump administration will actually proceed regarding the civil rights of transgender Americans.

However, Trump’s presidential transition plan “Project 2025” does include a detailed attempt to gut access to health care and legal protections for transgender Americans at the federal level. 🔥

Ignite Action

• On January 6, TransOhio will host a passport clinic at the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland. To learn more, click here.
• On January 6, a legal clinic to assist with name changes and birth certificate corrections will take place at the Cuyahoga County Probate Court. To learn more, click here.
• On January 8, TransOhio will offer individual sessions to help transgender Ohioans update legal documents via their monthly virtual legal clinic. To learn more, click here.
• On January 11, TransOhio will host a name-change and gender-marker correction clinic at Cuyahoga County Probate Court. To learn more, click here.
• On January 11, several organizations will partner to host a legal workshop for transgender Ohioans at Harmony Creek Church in Dayton. To learn more, click here.
• On January 24, TransOhio will host a name-change and gender-marker correction clinic at Summit County Probate Court. To learn more, click here.
• Equitas Health and TransOhio partner together to offer free monthly legal clinics for the trans+ community on name and gender marker changes. More information here.