Texas is no longer accepting Court Ordered Gender Updates For Driver Licenses

Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton at a border security briefing at Texas DPS regional headquarters in Weslaco on Jan. 27, 2022. (Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune)

On Tuesday the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) stopped recognizing court-ordered gender updates on driver licenses and state IDs. The policy change came without warning or public notice leaving nearly 100,000 transgender Texans in legal, emotional, and physical jeopardy.

UPDATE: Texas DPS Gender Marker Policy Change To Be Addressed at Webinar on Sept 28 6 pm central

There is no legal or legislative mandate for this draconian directive, only hate. Listen to a recording by special investigative reporter Steven Monacelli when Gregg Abbott addresses young Conservatives and promises to "end" transgender and non-binary people living in Texas.

Taking away our identification that we must have to work, use public accomidations and vote is the first step.

Here's the audio of when Texas Governor Greg Abbott suggested he wants to ban trans and gender nonconforming people from being public school teachers in Texas. pic.twitter.com/AHAWtj483I

— steven monacelli (@stevanzetti) April 20, 2024

The ACLU said in a statement "The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) ordered employees Tuesday to no longer allow transgender Texans to change the gender markers on their driver’s licenses or state IDs. The new policy allegedly would block updates even when the agency is required to make them by court order."

"In an internal email, DPS also instructs employees to report any attempt by Texans to update the gender listed on their documents. The policy change reflects the latest attempt by members of the state government to target and discriminate against transgender Texans."

Under previous DPS rules, people were able to change the sex on their driver's license if there was a clerical error, or if they presented an amended birth certificate or an original certified court record, the Texas Tribune reports.

Transgender Texans are now effectively barred from obtaining an accurate foundational government document and could become especially vulnerable to discrimination and harassment, said Ian Pittman, an Austin attorney who works with transgender Texans. The change has also raised privacy concerns from advocates of transgender people who worry their personal information will be used with malicious intent.

The internal email directs driver license employees to send the names and identification numbers of people seeking to change their sex on their license to a particular email address with the subject line “Sex Change Court Order.”

Employees are also instructed to “scan into the record” court orders or other documentation relating to the sex change request.

It is not clear how that information will be used. Two years ago, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton directed employees at DPS to compile a list of individuals who had changed their gender on their Texas driver’s licenses and other department records.

Transgender people are more Likely to vote than Cisgender Americans: USTS

The transgender community is more actively engaged politically during presidential elections than any other segment of society. This is according to the largest survey of trans people ever conducted over the last decade.

The results of the study shed new light on why the GOP known for voter suppression, have prioritized their attacks on trans and non-binary people. It's actually empowering to know that MAGA is so scared of trans trans people, a tiny minority of the US population that they would devout that much energy to disenfranchise us. But why target us and what can we do about it? That will become clear after we read the boring details which I have surmised.

The United States Transgender Survey (USTS) was conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality (now Advocates for Trans Equality Education Fund, “A4TE”) in partnership with the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, and TransLatin@ Coalition.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of U.S. citizens of voting age in the sample (“voting eligible respondents”) reported that they were registered to vote in the 2020 presidential election, compared to 73% in the U.S. population. The percentage of registered voters has been trending upwards since the first survey was conducted in 2015 USTS in which 76% of voting eligible respondents reported that they were registered to vote in the November 2014 midterm election, compared to 65% in the U.S. population.

Three-quarters (75%) of voting eligible respondents reported that they had voted in the 2020 presidential election, compared to 67% in the U.S. population.10 USTS respondents also appear more likely to have voted compared to the U.S. population when looking across age groups.

The trend of higher voter engagement among 2022 USTS respondents is consistent with the trend observed in the 2015 USTS in which 54% of voting eligible respondents reported that they had voted in the midterm election, compared to 42% in the U.S. population.

Here's where we can do better!

During the 2020 presidential election cycle, respondents reported donating money to a presidential campaign (13%) or another political candidate, issue, or cause (19%). They also volunteered or worked for a presidential campaign (3%) or another political candidate, issue, or cause (9%).

Only 3% of us volunteered during the last presidential election! I get why and I'm not putting anyone down for it. I voted for Biden but I didn't participate in getting the vote out!

We're politically and morally opposite but why eradicate us?

MAGA saw how just a few dozen of us with signs and boom boxes educated and persuaded HRC members to question Joe Solomnese about trans exclusion from their advocacy. They saw how in Texas when Abbott proposed a bathroom bill, ALL of Texas went to Austin to defend us! 

They view us as the most vulnerable of Democrats and said clearly in PROJECT 2025 that the next far-right federal government was going to "eradicate transgenderism."

They are wrong. But we must roll up our sleeves once again and participate.

If you are like me, living on a shoestring, skip past the opening page of Kamala Harris' web page where it asks for donations, and click the "Participate" link at the top and learn how you can help at kamalaharris.com

We're not going back! Let's send these fascists packing!