Over the next couple of months, we, along with our partners, will be hosting legal clinics across the state to help people obtain federal IDs.
Access to accurate identification is an important part of daily life, as it allows trans Tennesseans to open bank accounts, enroll in school, start new jobs, vote and travel. However, the Tennessee Department of Safety, under a new policy, has stopped changing gender markers on drivers’ licenses to accurately reflect gender changes for transgender people.
This new policy was created in response to a new state law that established the definition of the word “sex” throughout Tennessee state code as “a person’s immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth and evidence of a person’s biological sex.” To learn more about the “definition of sex” law, visit our Know Your Rights webpage.
Not having accurate identity documents exposes transgender people to harassment, discrimination, violence, and negative mental health outcomes. Therefore, it is essential that trans people have access to official documents that accurately reflect who they are.
