The Advocate General for the European Court of Justice is recommending that all EU member states be required to issue identity documents reflecting their citizens lived gender identity.The Courts AG Jean Richard de la Tour argued that national rules that do not allow legal gender recognition may violate European Union law, including the right to free movement and residency across all EU member states. Related Theres a drop in worldwide LGBTQ+ support. One group is largely to blame. The non-binding opinion was issued ahead of a case brought by a Bulgarian transgender woman, whose request to change the gender on her birth certificate was denied under Bulgarian law.A Bulgarian Supreme Court decision in 2023 affirmed a ban on legal gender recognition and changes to official documents for transgender individuals, ruling that sex is fixed at birth. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The Southeastern European nation joined the EU in 2007 after decades under communist rule. It has yet to recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions.While the Advocate Generals opinion is only advisory, the verdicts in about two-thirds of cases argued before the court align with an AGs recommendation.The case of the Bulgarian national, identified as Shipov in court documents, was forwarded from the Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation, which said Bulgarian domestic law couldnt be reconciled with EU law. The AG concurred in his opinion issued Thursday.Shipov was assigned male at birth, according to the EU high court, has undergone hormone therapy, and now identifies as a woman.The discrepancy between her feminine appearance and her official identity documents as a person of the male sex causes problems she encounters on a daily basis, in particular looking for a job,a summary of the AGs opinion reads. Shipov applied for a gender change on her identity documents but was denied because her birth certificate didnt reflect her current gender identity. A request to change the sex on her birth certificate was also refused.The AG said that the Bulgarian law requiring the indication of the persons sex based solely on the birth certificate gives rise, due to the purpose of that document, to an obligation for that State to legally recognize the lived gender identity and to record it in that document.De la Tours opinion was that any law which, by failing to recognize the gender identity of a transgender person, prevents that person from enjoying a right guaranteed by EU law, such as obtaining an identity document enabling them to freely exercise their right to move and reside within the territory of the Member States, constitutes a restriction on that right.The AG also recommended that changes to an identity document cannot be subject to the production of evidence of gender reassignment surgery.Such a requirement would undermine, in particular, the right to respect for private life, the ECJ summary said.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.