High Court to hear judicial review claim from nonbinary US citizen over UK gender recognition law

[IwantToRetire]

A judicial review claim that argues the Government's failure to issue a nonbinary US citizen a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) breaches the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is scheduled to be heard by the High Court on Wednesday (1 November).

Ryan Castellucci applied to be recognised as nonbinary through the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) in 2022 but is yet to have been issued a GRC.

The 2004 Act states that a person can apply for a GRC on the basis of having changed their gender under the law of an approved country or territory outside the UK.

Castellucci was born in California, which is on the approved list of territories, along with most US states.

They moved to the UK in 2019 and have sought to have their gender recognised through the 2004 Act, which does not include an explicit list of which genders can be accepted.

Castellucci believes that having a GRC which states their gender as nonbinary is the only way they can legally clarify their gender in this country.

However, the Minister for Women and Equalities argues that the GRA only permits applications for the grant of a GRC on a binary basis, namely male and female.

Castellucci argues that the Gender Recognition Panel (GRP) tasked with considering their application breached its statutory duty to issue a GRC in terms which record Castellucci's acquired gender as nonbinary.

More https://www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/litigation-and-enforcement/400-litigation-news/55489-high-court-to-hear-judicial-review-claim-from-nonbinary-us-citizen-over-uk-gender-recognition-law

sighs

Thanks for posting.

have their gender recognised through the 2004 Act, which does not include an explicit list of which genders can be accepted.
Does this mean the doors will burst open and any of the 100+ genders can have a certificate? If so, I could be very easily persuaded to be cat gender, although perhaps being able to pee up people's legs would be tempting as a dog gender. Hmmm 🤔

I had a feeling this would happen.

It feels like a war of attrition that will ultimately succeed because sympathisers hold key positions.

Is nonbinary a gender - seriously - doesn't it mean no gender?

But does illustrate the problem of legislation made by people who have little or no idea of the trajectory of the ideology that the GRA was the trojan horse.

I think there needs to be a move to slim down legislation. ie it should only be about facts ie biological reality eg sex, race, age, disablity. And the consequences of that eg discrimination, health.

But no legislation based on feelings or ideology. Because this can change or expand or contract depending of social norms of the time.

Ah... so many pressing issues in this world. Kidnapped Israelis, gun violence in U.S., melting glaciers, severe weather events, Venice sinking, Ukrainian-Russian war . . . and the plight of the non-binary.

They should win really shouldn’t they? Either it’s a sex marker and binary, or it’s a feelz marker and people should be able to submit their own personal identity whatever that is and have it recognised.

I hope he falls.

I'm resentful enough of this shit and I definitely don't want any law change driven by a foreign national to suit their own wacky agenda.

If they/them wins it will give those of us who think the GRA should be rescinded even more evidence of how stupid any law is that pretends people can be something they’re not.

While most people know men can’t be women, even more would eye roll at the ridiculousness of the concept that people can opt out of having a sex altogether.

It will be interesting to see how captured the High Court is about this nonsense. Win or lose, I hope it gets lots and lots of publicity.

House of Commons Library page on "Non-binary gender recognition: law and policy" is here

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9515/

It says that the GRA "enables a person to change the sex recorded on their birth certificate, either from male to female or vice versa. It makes no provision for the recognition of any other gender."

We'll see what the High Court says.

(It looks as if the other documents linked to on that page might be worth perusal, but not 5 in the morning when I've not slept much.)

Fuck sake another 'everything has to be about validation for ME!!! I AM SO IMPORTANT OTHER PEOPLE MUST BOW TO MY FEELZ'!!!

Pixiedust1234
Very funny, the world has gone mad!

I just hope this person hasn't got legal aid to pay for this. What a waste of time.

Is Castellucci a British citizen? Can GRAs be handed out to people who aren't citizens of the country that issues them, especially if they weren't born there and don't have a birth certificate from this country?
I've never thought about this until two minutes ago, but as a non-British resident in the UK, I think my instinct would tell me to talk my country's consulate in Edi about this rather than the British if I'd ever would want a GRA (not going to happen ever).

Apparently, non-British residents can apply for a GRC in the UK, as long as their country of origin recognises them.

I think he's got a strong case. You can't coherently argue for limiting the choices in a database field that people are allowed to put anything they like in.

The GRA2004 itself came from a similar ruling - the government was allowing a certain amount of lying, in some databases, but failing to permit universal recognition of the lie throughout the entire system. They failed to coherently argue against extending the lie.

This is Helen Joyces "if you let 1=0 in one place anywhere, the whole of mathematics collapses", but occurring in courts.

A clear next step after this one will be trying to coherently argue against letting people self-ID in other fields, if they're allowed to self-ID in this one.

The only way to stop this is to draw the line such that there is no lying - the "self-ID" things like gender or religion have to become fully detached from real objective information like age and sex.

If non binary is accepted, how would that effect single sex exemptions in the Equality Act? If needed, what prison or hospital ward would this person be put in?

I think it's been shown over and over that allowing a lie in law makes everything a nonsense. GRA needs repealed.

I assume the US would recognize a GRA.
I spent so much time dealing with paperwork for me and the children I think the very last thing I'd want to do is add another layer on top of that for something as ill-defined as "non-binary".

What are they going to use the certificate for?

I assume to highlight how incredibly special they are because they have a certificate to prove it

how do these people cope with everyday life

How do you prove a negative?
How do you prove you are actively living as having no sex? Or being both sexes?

.

This is going to blow people's minds.

Cannot wait.

How intensely annoying. This will be great sunlight, but I don't think he'll win. That woman failed before, and the UK court seems pretty dead set against non binary.

I suspect because it threatens to expose the fallacy of changing sex. Just too much cognitive dissonance looms.

As for asking for logic - this is the legal system we are talking about. Logic was left very far behind what eventually arrives in court.

They can’t marry their partner apparently as they would have to declare M or F and they are neither. Though that would still be the case.
I think that will be the next step.

The day people decided gender was not the same as sex, while the majority of people including lawyers used the words interchangeably, the world went topsy turvy.

It could all be solved if everyone said ‘gender, non binary? That’s nice dear. Just put your sex in the m/f box.’

This is instantly over if we revert to sex based categories as we always have.

Who is paying legal fees?

https://www.irishlegal.com/articles/campaigner-fails-in-uk-gender-neutral-passport-case