Transgender Texans can no longer update their gender on their driver's licenses to match their identity, even if they have a court order or updated birth certificate.
Head of the state's driver's license division Sheri Gipson confirmed the change Wednesday via an internal email with immediate effect. A Department of Public Safety employee confirmed they received the email about the new policy, but didn't want to comment further.
Before this change, people could update the gender on their driver's licenses if there was a mistake, or if they had an updated birth certificate or a certified court record.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced on Wednesday evening that it would no longer accept court orders to change a person's gender on their driver's license, Texas Tribune reported.
This decision was made after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office raised concerns about whether these court orders were legitimate. The DPS statement explained that neither it nor other government agencies were involved in the legal cases that produce these court orders.
Furthermore, the statement mentioned that there were no clear laws or evidence requirements for the courts to issue such orders, and DPS and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) needed to conduct a thorough legal review.
Austin attorney Ian Pittman, who worked with transgender Texans, said the latter were now effectively prevented from getting accurate identification documents, which could make them more vulnerable to discrimination and harassment.
Advocates for transgender people are also concerned that this change could lead to privacy issues, as they worry that personal information might be misused.
The internal email also instructs driver license employees to send the names and identification numbers of people trying to change the gender on their license to a specific email address, using the subject line "Sex Change Court Order."
Advocates are concerned that the information requested by Attorney General Paxton could be used to further limit transgender people's ability to transition.
Brad Pritchett, the interim CEO of Equality Texas, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said Texans will now face involuntary surveillance just for trying to update a government document.
He added that there was no clear reason why the DPS would need this information and no valid reason to deny gender marker updates on driver's licenses.
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