The decision temporarily blocks the state's requirement that trans people undergo a "surgical procedure" before changing the sex on their birth certificate.

A Montana judge on Thursday temporarily blocked enforcement of a law that required transgender people to have undergone a “surgical procedure” before being allowed to change their sex on their birth certificates.

The law was part of a growing list of measures in Republican-controlled states, including Alabama, that have moved to restrict transgender rights as the community gains more visibility in culture and society.