OHIO — A federal court says Ohio must allow individuals to change their gender listed on birth certificates.

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio says the birth certificate rule imposed by the state Department of Health and the Office of Vital Statistics is unconstitutional.

Ohio was weighing an appeal. The state of Ohio claimed the policy preveted fraud and maintained historical accuracy, but Judge Michael Watson rejected the claims, saying they are “thinly veiled” excuses for discrimination. Watson went on to say that no excuse should be acceptable for the policy.

"The court find that Defendants' proffered justifications are nothing more than thinly veiled post-hoc rationales to deflect from the discriminatory impact of their policy," Watson wrote.

The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in March 2018. Court documents show four individuals filed the suit after being denied to change their gender on their birth cerificates. According to court documents, four transgender individuals sued after they were denied the ability to change the sex marker on their birth certificates.

It was filed against the State Registrar of the Office of Vital Statistics, the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Chief of the Office of Vital Statistics. 

Lambda Legal, a legal defense group for LGBTQ rights, wrote in a press release that the decision has been a long-time coming. 

"Finally, transgender people from Ohio will be able to correct their birth certificates so that this necessary identity document is consistent with their gender identities. Accurate birth certificates are essential. They are foundational to our ability to access a variety of benefits such as employment and housing, and to navigate the world freely and safely, as who we truly are," wrote Lambda Legal.

Ohio was one of the last two states to prohibit such changes. Tennessee is the only one that doesn't allow it.