Transphobia at Motor Vehicles in West Virginia

[Charlize]

July 7, 2014

TLDEF Calls Upon West Virginia DMV to Allow Two Transgender Women to Take Driver’s License Photos as Their True Selves and Without Harassment

Women Were Told to Remove Makeup and Wigs for License Photos and Called “It” by DMV Staff

DMV Actions Restricted Free Speech and Violated Constitutional Protections

TLDEF calls upon the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles to allow two transgender women to take their driver’s license photos as they appear on a regular basis. DMV officials at separate offices previously ordered the women to remove their makeup and wigs before the agency would photograph them and used defamatory language towards the women in the process.

On May 10, 52-year-old Mount Storm resident Trudy Kitzmillervisited the DMV office in Martinsburg to update her driver’s license to reflect her new legal name and her appearance in her license photo. She brought with her court documents verifying her name change and documents from her doctors stating that was she under their care as part of her gender transition. But Trudy was met with hostility by DMV staff who called her “it” and ordered her to take off her wig, makeup and jewelry before they would take her photo for a new license. She protested their actions, but they denied her request to be photographed as her true self. Trudy left the office despondent and still retains her old driver’s license that does not reflect her legal name or appearance. This has caused her great difficulty on a day-to-day basis, including when applying for jobs, which require that she provide accurate identification.

“This is who I am – a transgender woman - and I have overcome many obstacles to become my true self. DMV staff not only denied me the right to appear in my license photo as myself, they used dehumanizing language to address me,” Trudy said. “The experience was humiliating and wrong. I am asking the DMV to allow me to retake my license photo as I regularly appear and to treat transgender people fairly moving forward. I want to move on with my life and participate fully in society with an ID that accurately reflects who I am.”

In the other instance, 45-year-old Ranson resident Kristen Skinner went to the Charles Town DMV on January 7 to update her driver’s license to reflect her new legal name and her appearance in her license photo. At the DMV, she too was met with hostility by staff who told her she could not be photographed wearing the makeup that she wears on a daily basis. She was told that men cannot be photographed for a driver’s license photo wearing makeup. She was told to remove her false eyelashes and wig, neither of which she was wearing. DMV staff also called her “it.” Kristen eventually removed her makeup and DMV staff took her license photo with an altered appearance that does not reflect how she looks on a daily basis.

“It has taken me a long time to become the woman that I am today, and it has not been easy. The DMV treated me horribly,” Kristen said. “I was simply trying to update my driver’s license to reflect who I truly am as a transgender woman. Instead I was told to alter how I normally appear so that I would look like a man and was called “it” in the process. The DMV should right this wrong by allowing me to take my photo as I regularly appear. No one deserves to be subjected to the discrimination I faced at the DMV.”

In a letter dated June 30, TLDEF contacted the West Virginia DMV and requested that Trudy and Kristen be given the opportunity to retake their license photos while appearing as they normally do.

“Trudy & Kristen’s freedom to express who they are as transgender women may not be restricted in this way by the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles,” said TLDEF Executive Director Michael Silverman in the letter to the DMV. “Forcing them to remove their makeup and other items that facilitate a female gender expression before allowing them to take their driver’s license photos restricts their free speech rights in violation of state and federal constitutional protections.”

“Trudy and Kristen appeared at the DMV in makeup, clothing and accessories that they wear on a daily basis,” he continued. “Nevertheless, DMV staff mandated that Trudy and Kristen change their appearance…. Other women are permitted to wear makeup and items that facilitate female gender expression in their driver’s license photos as a matter of course, yet Trudy and Kristen were targeted for suppression simply because they are transgender women.”

TLDEF urges the West Virginia DMV to allow Trudy and Kristen to return to the DMV for new photos as soon as possible. They are eager to take their pictures again, with their everyday makeup, hair and jewelry, and are eager to put these incidents behind them.

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[Cyndee]

Wake up WV, it's the 21st century. Why do we always hear about the MTF that gets this kinda treatment ? I am sure there are some FTM's that have had difficulty. It's just that I've grown so tired of society trying to enforce masculinity, it's like people can't we just give this idea up ? Being a woman is not shameful, gawd.....

Hearing stories like this makes me appreciate the social climate here in WA, this place "get's it". I had a great experience at the WA State dept of licensing with my updates last year.

C -

[Carolyn Marie]

I hope the women are successful in this appeal, but without a change in West Virginia law, I doubt that will happen.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest LizMarie]

http://www.transgenderlegal.org/media/uploads/doc_559.pdf

Transgender Legal states that there are federal precedents that make the action of the DMV employees illegal. They provide their references in the attached PDF.

In short, West Virginia DMV is in violation of the law.

[Ravin]

It stinks that you gals get this treatment. With guys, I think it's a matter of there not being much they can do to harass us. There's not much to take off in a guy's typical appearance.

I think it comes down less to freedom of expression and more to common sense interpretation of regs. You should look on your license like you look on as typical day you drive your car and are most likely to encounter law enforcement. An I.D. document that doesn't look like you is useless for identification.