Easier to Change Gender on ID, But Not Easy Enough: ACLU

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Transgender individuals can now change their gender identification on state driver’s licenses and identification cards without having first undergone gender confirmation surgery under a policy change in the office of Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, who was sued by six transgender Michigan residents.

The policy changed March 10, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, which represented Johnson in the lawsuits, The Detroit News reports.

Before the policy change, transgender residents had to provide an amended birth certificate, available to Michigan residents only after gender confirmation surgery.

Now, residents who want to change their genders on driver’s licenses and ID cards need only provide a valid U.S. passport or passport card, a court order changing the gender of the individual or a certified birth certificate.

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs said the old policy disenfranchised them.

““I'm very comfortable and confident in who I am, but I shouldn't have to divulge my personal information or 'come out' as a trans person every time I want to cash a check or cast a ballot," Emani Love, one of three named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said in a statement. "I just want ID that is truthful in its description of who I really am."

Jay Kaplan, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the six transgender plaintiffs who sued Johnson’s office, said the change is a step forward, but doesn’t go far enough.

“It’s still not a model policy. It’s still not a policy that other states have adopted to make sure transgender individuals can obtain ID,” Kaplan told The Detroit News. “We are continuing with our lawsuit.”

Neither Johnson nor her office commented, the newspaper said. Johnson is scheduled for depositions on the lawsuit, which is before U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds, on Thursday.

» The Detroit News has more.