Texas removes trans people's ability to change their ID's gender marker

Texas removes trans people’s ability to change their ID’s gender marker
Anyone seeking to change their gender will be added to a database that state Republicans can access.
By Mira Lazine Thursday, August 22, 2024

Transgender Texans are no longer able to change the gender marker on their state IDs, including if they have a court order or they have an amended birth certificate, according to KUT.

The only way Texans can change the gender marker is if it’s demonstrated to be a clerical error. However, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), this is no longer in effect. The previous DPS rules were quietly removed from their website yesterday. A spokesperson for the DPS blamed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) for the change.

“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, including driver licenses and birth certificates,” the agency told KUT.

“Neither DPS nor other government agencies are parties to the proceedings that result in the issuance of these court orders, and 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. Therefore, as of Aug. 20, 2024, DPS has stopped accepting these court orders as a basis to change sex identification in department records–including driver licenses,” the agency added.

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