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| Photo / DPS website |
A poorly written headline of an article by Erin Reed on Substack suggests that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) may be reverting the gender maker on transgender Texans' driver's licenses. This added undue stress to many in the community who trust Reed explicitly most of whom don't read past the headline.
That headline stopped me, a transgender Texan, from reading the article but for other reasons. Having previously read the letter from McCraw and being well-informed about the process, that headline looked like clickbait and honestly, my stress level is high enough already.
As you know the DPS without allowing for a public comment period as required changed a major department policy on August 20, 2024.
Nearly a month later Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asking if the DPS has the authority to ignore court orders and revert driver licenses to the sex they were before they were changed. The first three questions in the letter are all telling:
McCraw inadvertently pointed out in the letter that they didn't have legal or a legislative mandate to stop accepting court-ordered gender marker changes presently, so how could the DPS change drivers' licenses that had already been changed?" Paxton may have told him to do that, and McCraw, now retiring, passed the buck back to his boss.
I know cruelty is the point for Paxton. He has played a part in raising the suicide rate of transgender people living in Republican states to 7-72% higher in comparison to Democrat-governed states. It doesn't matter to him if his attacks on minorities ultimately fail. To Paxton, cruelty is the point.
Texas DPS isn't accepting court orders changing gender markers and yes, the DPS is keeping a list of those who were in the process of doing it. But no, Texas isn't currently reverting Gender Markers On Driver Licenses of Transgender residents.
Now look for the Legislature to pass a bill in the upcoming session defining sex. They have tried and failed to do that in the past sessions. They must also pass a bill directing the DPS to act on Governor Gregg Abbott's insatiable hatred of diversity. That is likely what the DPS needs to begin reverting the gender on transgender licenses.
(edited for clarity 10/5/24)
