AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety’s new policy to turn away anyone who wants to change the gender marker on their driver’s license or identification card is fraught with legal issues. Typically, transgender Texans who want to make the change do so with a court order, but the department says those orders will no longer matter as of this week.
The first step will most likely be to seek a temporary restraining order to prevent the Texas Department of Public Safety from refusing to comply with these court orders to change the gender identification number at the driver’s license office.
“We saw a similar problem and a similar path when the directive came to DFPS (Department of Family Protective Services) to investigate every family receiving gender affirming care for their child,” said Pete Makopoulos-Senftleber, an attorney who volunteers with Trans Legal Aid Clinic Texas, an organization that helps people legally change their name and gender marker.
“Can they just ignore a court order?” I asked him. “Well, personally, I don’t think they can. I’m sure some legal options will be explored in the next few months or years, as is the case in Florida and Kansas.”
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In Kansas, the ACLU appealed a similar decision to the state’s appeals court on behalf of five transgender people. In Texas, a surprise rule change occurred this week.
In a statement, the DPS says: “Neither the DPS nor any other government agency is a party to the proceedings that led to the issuance of these court orders, and because the courts lack the legislative authority and evidentiary standards to issue these orders, a comprehensive legal review by the DPS and the OAG is required.
“We knew this was already happening in some states, but we had no idea if and when it would happen in Texas,” said Brad Pritchett, interim CEO of Equality Texas. He previously worked as a strategy and advocacy strategist for the ACLU of Texas.
LGBTQ-plus advocacy organizations are in the early stages of planning next steps — but this will most likely end up in court. In the meantime, both Trans Legal Aid and Equality Texas are collecting the names of people seeking to change their gender marker. “That message hasn’t really become public yet. People are saying they want to change their gender marker, but they may not know they’ll be turned away. If they try, they’ll be added to the list without having the opportunity to opt out,” Pritchett said.
I looked into what is required to change the gender on other identification documents, such as a passport. Under U.S. State Department regulations, you can specify male, female, or x for an unspecified identity. The State Department website states that the gender does not have to match the one on your photo ID and that you do not need to provide medical documentation.
