The Texas Department of Public Safety recently issued a policy change that prevents transgender residents from changing the designated sex on their driver’s licenses. The department will no longer accept court orders or amended birth certificates for these changes. This policy change affects an estimated 92,900 transgender adults in Texas. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas criticized the policy, calling it an attack on the privacy, safety, and dignity of transgender individuals.
The process for changing one’s gender marker in Texas is largely undefined and varies by county. Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought information on people requesting gender changes on state-issued documents. This move by DPS has been seen as a violation of privacy and dignity.
Paxton has consistently opposed LGBTQ+ policies and pushed against gender protections for state and private employees under the Biden administration. In the most recent legislative session, a bill was proposed to prohibit changing the gender marker on a birth certificate, making changes to other state documents more difficult. Similar restrictions on changing gender markers on driver’s licenses have been seen in other Republican-controlled states.
Overall, the policy change in Texas has led to criticism, with concerns raised about privacy, surveillance, and dignity of transgender residents. The issue of gender marker changes on official documents continues to be a contentious one in many states.
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