Tuesday, May 25, 2010

And by the Way, the DMV Is Finally Obeying the Law...

Sorry I couldn't get to this story earlier. I know, I know, I feel so EPIC FAIL today. Remember when we had to contact the Nevada DMV and ask them to stop their illegal discrimination against transgender persons? Well, it worked!

According to [DMV Field Services Chief Nancy] Wojcik, her agency will now provide transgendered folks with a form, to be filled out and signed by a physician, that states people asking for license changes have been living their lives with their new gender.

No longer, said Wojcik, will any Nevada transsexual have to complete genitalia surgery in order to obtain a new, official gender.

Maggie McLetchie, an attorney with the ACLU of Nevada, is thrilled at the prospect that, this time, DMV seems to have embraced real change.

"The ACLU of Nevada is very pleased to announce that we learned [on May 18] that the DMV is making the changes we requested. We understand that while the changes will not go into place immediately because they need to finalize the materials, the DMV is committed to instituting a humane policy that allows people whose gender has changed to get drivers' licenses that reflect their identity and enable them to avoid harassment and discrimination," she said.

Finally, FINALLY, the DMV is moving to comply with state law and treat transgender Nevadans with the dignity and respect they deserve. And hopefully we'll see the new policy implemented sooner rather than later, so that no one else has to endure the same kinds of horror stories described in last week's CityLife.

No comments:

Post a Comment