Current:Home > ScamsTransgender Tennessee woman sues over state’s refusal to change the sex designation on her license -TrueNorth Capital Hub
Transgender Tennessee woman sues over state’s refusal to change the sex designation on her license
View
Date:2025-04-17 22:43:47
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A transgender Tennessee woman sued the state’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security on Tuesday after officials refused to change the sex on her driver’s license to match her gender identity.
The lawsuit was filed in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville under the pseudonym Jane Doe by the American Civil Liberties Union. It claims the department acted illegally by updating its policies without following the state’s Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, which requires public notice and public comment before an administrative rule is adopted.
The department previously permitted a change to the sex designator on a Tennessee driver’s license with a statement from a doctor that “necessary medical procedures to accomplish the change in gender are complete,” according to the lawsuit.
That policy changed after the legislature passed a law last year defining “sex” throughout Tennessee code as a person’s “immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth.”
Shortly after the law went into effect, the department issued the new guidelines to employees on proof of identity. However, the department did not officially update the old rule or repeal it, according to the lawsuit.
Doe says she was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2022 and currently receives hormone therapy. She tried to change the sex designation on her driver’s license in February, but she was turned away. She has a passport card that identifies her as female and uses that for identification wherever possible, but sometimes she still has to show her driver’s license with the male sex designation, according to the lawsuit.
“Ms. Doe is forced to disclose her transgender status whenever she shows a third-party her drivers license,” the lawsuit states, adding that “she fears discrimination, harassment and violence based on her status as a transgender woman.”
The lawsuit says the new policy violates Doe’s constitutional rights to privacy, free speech, equal protection and due process and asks the judge to issue a ruling to that effect. It also asks the court to declare that the new policy is void because it violates the Tennessee Uniform Procedures Act and to reverse the denial of Doe’s sex designation change on her license.
A spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Wes Moster, said in an email that the department does not comment on pending litigation. He referred questions to the state Attorney General’s Office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Tuesday.
veryGood! (6216)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Epilogue Books serves up chapters, churros and coffee in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- U.S. job growth wasn't quite as strong as it appeared last year after government revision
- What we know — and don’t know — about the crash of a Russian mercenary’s plane
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- Federal judge in lawsuit over buoys in Rio Grande says politics will not affect his rulings
- The viral song 'Rich Men North of Richmond' made its way to the RNC debate stage
- Michael Oher in new court filing: Tuohys kept him 'in the dark' during conservatorship
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani has UCL tear, won't pitch for rest of 2023 season
Ranking
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- MLB's toughest division has undergone radical makeover with Yankees, Red Sox out of power
- Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte turns 20: The famous fall beverage that almost wasn't
- Plane crash believed to have killed Russian mercenary chief is seen as Kremlin’s revenge
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Brooklyn man charged with murder in 'horrific' hammer attack on mother, 2 children
- Chickens, goats and geese, oh my! Why homesteading might be the life for you
- Keep 'my name out your mouth': Tua Tagovailoa responds to Ryan Clark's stripper comment
Recommendation
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
Fran Drescher says actors strike she’s leading is an ‘inflection point’ that goes beyond Hollywood
A Trump supporter indicted in Georgia is also charged with assaulting an FBI agent in Maryland
'Bachelorette' Gabby Windey says this Netflix reality show inspired her to explore her bisexuality
McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
Maui County sues utility, alleging negligence over fires that ravaged Lahaina
AP Week in Pictures: North America
Man accused of beating goose to death with golf club at New York golf course, officials say