In Malone-Bey v. Mississippi State Board of Health, (MS App, March 4, 2025), a Mississippi state appellate court held that plaintiff's religious free exercise, equal protection and due process rights were not violated when the State Board of Health refused to amend his birth certificate to designate his race as “white: Asiatic/Moor.” The court said in part:
[Plaintiff] asserts that “[t]he inability to recognize this information on [his] birth certificate impedes his full expression of his identity.” He further asserts that the Board is “discriminating against [him] or placing undue burdens on him due to his religious beliefs or status” and has “denied [him] the ability to fulfill religious obligations and affirm his identity.”
These arguments are without merit. The Board is in no way “discriminating against” Malone-Bey. To the contrary, the Board’s approved Certificate of Live Birth does not identify the race, nationality, or religion of any child. The Board has not treated Malone-Bey different from anyone else. The Board has treated him just like everyone else....
“Just as the [State] may not insist that [Malone-Bey] engage in any set form of religious observance, so [Malone-Bey] may not demand that the [State] join in [his] chosen religious practices by” adding new categories of information to the State’s records....
