Canadian Trans Boy Given New Birth Certificate

After a groundbreaking ruling, a 12-year-old boy from Alberta, Canada, received a new birth certificate Sunday that identifies him as male, the Canadian Press reports.

Wren Kauffman was given his new birth certificate during a Pride festival brunch in Edmonton, Alberta, which was hosted by the city's mayor, Don Iveson. Cultural minister Heather Klimchuck presented the boy with the document.

According to a spokesman for Klimchuck, the new certificate changed now has the letter "M" instead of an "F."

Wren filed a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission when he was not allowed to change his gender on his birth certificate. According to Alberta law, a transgender person must have reassignment surgery before they can change their birth certificate, but Premier David Hancock said in April that the requirement will be nixed.

A week after Hancock's announcement, a judge ruled the law violates trans rights.

In the 70s, most provinces in Canada changed laws so people could change their gender on their birth certificates after they had sex reassignment surgery. The new laws didn't mention children since one must be 18 years or older to undergo the surgery.

"If you're not yourself, then it kind of gets sad and depressing," Kauffman told the CBC last year, according to Gay Star News. "I'm glad that I told everybody."

Similar complaints have been filed in other provinces in Canada, including British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.