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Article by Paula Gomes, Tennessee Conservative News –
Tennessee officials are being sued by a man who lives as a woman and who wants his driver’s license to show that he is female.
The lawsuit is directed toward Governor Bill Lee and Tennessee Homeland Security Commissioner Jeff Long. The transgender individual from Knox County known in the suit as “Jane Doe” claims that the state must honor changes made to his birth certificate in Illinois.
According to the complaint, Tennessee’s refusal to honor those changes violates the 14th Amendment of the constitution of the United States and the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the constitution regarding documents from out-of-state.
Tennessee law does not allow a driver’s license to reflect the chosen gender identity of transgender individuals.
The lawsuit states that earlier this year, “Jane Doe” changed his Illinois birth certificate from male to female but upon visiting the Knox County Department of Motor Vehicles was told that his drivers license could not be changed.
The court is being asked to award damages and attorney fees to “Jane Doe.”
The law at issue was signed by Lee over three years ago and requires that identification of all Tennesseans, which includes driver’s licenses and birth certificates, must reflect “biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth.”
While the statute also allows birth certificates to be used as evidence for the identification of an individual’s sex, the state has prohibited amendments to the sex marker on original birth certificates since 1977. This policy has been upheld by the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Before the 2023 law, transgender individuals were able to update gender markers on driver’s licences by getting a statement from a physician.
Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee attempted to have the driver’s license restriction blocked and filed lawsuits. In their complaint, the ACLU stated that the new law creates privacy and safety risks for transgender individuals living in Tennessee, as well as violating constitutional protections.
Sources:
WVLT.
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About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
