Texas agency won’t change gender markers on IDs in new policy
Equality Texas shared a screenshot of the email with Rewire News Group. Equality Texas shared a screenshot of the email with Rewire News Group.
The email states that “All court order sex changes documentation that cannot processed should be scanned in the record and customer’s names and DL/ID numbers be emailed at
“. “Please notate on the email in the subject line ‘Sex Change Court Order.'”
“Texans will now be subject to involuntary surveillance for simply trying to update a government document,” Brad Pritchett, interim CEO of Equality Texas, said in a statement. “There is no clear reason why this information would be useful to the DPS, nor is there a legitimate reason to deny gender marker updates on driver’s licenses.”[email protected]Name changes won’t be processed, the email adds, if they are accompanied by gender marker changes. Under the new policy, gender changes will only be granted if an ID shows the wrong gender due to a clerical error.
In a statement, DPS said the “Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has recently raised concerns regarding the validity of court orders being issued which purport to order state agencies–including DPS–to change the sex of individuals in government records … the lack of legislative authority and evidentiary standards for the Courts to issue these orders has resulted in the need for a comprehensive legal review by DPS and the OAG.”
Trans Legal Aid Clinic of Texas is advising those who have a court order but haven’t yet updated their gender markers to hold off unless or until the policy is suspended, rescinded, or changed, attorney and clinic board member Pete Makopoulos-Senftleber said.
“You’re going to get turned away anyway,” Makopoulos-Senftleber said. “So at this point, there’s really no upside to trying.”
But the risk of surveillance is even more significant.
“They are compiling a list,” Makopoulos-Sentfleber said. I don’t want to be on any government list for any reason. I don’t want to be on any government list for any reason.”
“We don’t know … if some or part of the information will be subject to or released in Public Information Act requests, at which point people’s information could be scrutinized or utilized by bad actors,” he added.
As for the questions DPS raised about the “validity” of court orders to change gender markers, courts issue them according to standards laid out in Texas law, Makopoulos-Senftleber said.
“There’s zero validity to the argument,” he said of DPS’ statement. “The argument is a red herring.”
Pritchett echoed this.
“Updating a gender marker in the state of Texas is a complicated process that requires the time, energy, and resources to secure a court order,” he said. If Texas agencies can ignore Texas court orders then what other laws will they ignore? The Washington Post reported that an employee familiar with Paxton’s request said the office was looking for “the number people who have had a legal gender change” and a list names. Paxton’s Office refused to confirm that it had made the request.
This was just months after Paxton released a legal opinion stating that gender affirming care for minors can be considered child abuse. Greg Abbott ordered the Department of Family and Protective Services in Texas to investigate any families who sought such care. This directive is partially blocked while a legal case proceeds. However, other anti-trans policies enacted in Texas in recent years, such as bans on gender affirming care for children and restrictions on which sports teams trans athletes are allowed to join, are still in place. Trans Texans are asking for their driver’s licence to reflect their gender, just as people who have changed their names after getting married want the correct name on it. Our IDs are used to navigate our lives in all aspects: driving, voting and employment. Trans Texans will be stuck in limbo for the foreseeable. For now, Makopoulos-Senftleber said, the message is: “Don’t go to DPS.”
