Good News, Bad News, Take 2

Some of you may be aware of the ongoing battle some of us have waged with the North Carolina DMV regarding appropriate gender markers on driver’s licenses and identification cards. We have been at this task for some 8 or 9 months now…not really that long, in the scheme of things. The good news is: yesterday, the DMV finally acceded to giving me that coveted “F” on my driver’s license. The bad news? I know that the DMV is still unwilling to change the language in their driver’s license examiner’s manual, and that I was, essentially, “bought off”. To my knowledge, I am the second person who has gone to the DMV, in NC, with a physician’s letter stating that they were under her care. And, it would seem that, even though the exact language in the manual has not been amended, some kind of interoffice memo HAS been circulated specifying the reinterpretation of the policy for granting changes in gender markers.

A brief history: The process was initiated by a close friend, who contacted Mr. Wayne Hurder, director of NC DMV. The director has wavered…agreeing, then backing off that agreement. This on again, off again treatment was repeated several times. Subsequently, another colleague approached NC Senator Cowell at NC lobby days, and persuaded her that this was a worthy issue and she communicated the nature of the problem, once again, to Mr. Hurder. I contacted Senator Cowell’s administrative aide and, after a few conversations, she was able to get a confirmation from Mr. Hurder that, yes, they would be willing to amend my driver’s license with a letter from my physician stating that I was under her care.

What, you may ask, is the remaining problem? We have asked that Mr. Hurder change the language within the manual to be more specific. It used , and continues to use, the following language:

“To change gender markers on a driver’s license or identification card, a person must have either a court order or a letter from a physician stating that they are in the process of procedure of having their sex changed”

Previously, this language had been interpreted to mean that a surgeon’s letter was necessary. Now, it would seem, the same language is being interpreted to mean that an individual must be under a physician’s care. The problem is that, given the nature of the director’s change of mind, and given the fact that Mr. Hurder is unlikely to be Director of DMV forever, a more substantial use of language with greater clarity would certainly seem to be in order. How do we know that a change is not in the works? A new driver’s license examiner’s manual has just been issued and the language of the provision is identical to its previous version.

Rest assured that we will NOT be bought off. I will remain in contact with both Mr. Hurder and with Senator Cowell’s office and will not rest until we see a substantive change in policy, complete with language that is crystal clear. I have learned the value of incrementalism. Nevertheless, we will continue to push the envelope, keep up the struggle, and remain staunch in our efforts to work for equality for transgender persons.

trickster108