Texas Has Discreetly Monitored Transgender Drivers | Carscoops

      Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton believes that a court order should not permit individuals to alter the sex on their identification.

      Texas is currently observing requests to modify the sex designation on driver's licenses and IDs. It is uncertain why this data is being collected or whether it is being disseminated. Some Texans are facing rejections of their requests to change sex markers, even when they provide valid proof.

      A significant report has disclosed that Texas has been collecting information about transgender individuals who have sought to change their sex on identification documents, including driver's licenses. This comes after Republican state Rep. Tom Oliverson proposed a bill that could criminalize the misidentification of one's sex assigned at birth, potentially leading to penalties of up to two years in prison.

      Earlier this month, The Texas Newsroom obtained documents that revealed the Department of Public Safety (DPS) has been recording each instance when a driver requests a change of sex on their license. According to KUT, these records indicate that after Texas announced last year it would no longer permit residents to change the sex on their driver’s licenses except to rectify clerical errors, the agency has been logging every change request.

      The collected information is forwarded to an internal email address with the subject "Sex Change Court Order." For years, transgender Texans could update their state IDs following a court order. However, last year, LGBTQ activists accessed the email address and inundated it with subscriptions to LGBTQ blogs. Despite public dissent, the department has persistently gathered data from those requesting changes to their stated sex, according to KUT.

      Confusion and Rejections

      Local media reports indicate that in some situations, DPS employees approved changes to the name on a license but denied updates to the sex marker. In other instances, employees rejected both the name and sex changes, even when individuals had federal documents or IDs from other states that corresponded with their gender identity. Some state staff even recorded inquiries from residents who merely asked about the process for updating their ID.

      In one instance, a driver sought to change the sex on his ID at a local driver’s license office but was informed that he needed to provide additional documentation. He emailed a copy of his passport to the Department of Public Safety, which was then forwarded to the internal address for tracking sex change requests.

      Legislative Response

      Earlier this month, Texas Republican state Rep. Tom Oliverson introduced a bill that would impose strict penalties on individuals who "knowingly make a false or misleading verbal or written statement" by misidentifying their sex assigned at birth to an employer or governmental organization. The proposed legislation could result in a state jail felony charge, which carries penalties of up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine, according to NBC News. However, as it currently lacks co-sponsors, the bill is unlikely to progress in the near future.