The Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus strongly condemns the dangerous and invasive action by the Texas Department of Public Safety in reversing policy in the dead of night and blocking transgender Texans from pursuing a change in their gender markers on state-issued driver’s licenses and ID cards. Further, it is radical government intimidation and intervention to track fellow citizens when history has shown that nothing good has ever come from a governmental entity making a list of marginalized people.

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“While the Texas Democratic Delegation is in Chicago, and for the first time ever has two trans delegates to the Democratic National Convention, extreme Texas Republicans led by Ken Paxton are seeking to further strip the dignity of trans folx by denying them the ability to change their gender marker to the gender that reflects who they are,” said Jessica Cohen and Mo Jenkins, Vice President and Ad-Hoc Officer respectively with the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus, and who identify as transgender. “When a key Democratic Party message at convention is to ‘mind your own business’, this sudden policy change has so many negative waterfall implications that it is clearly meant to target and intimidate Texans who identify as transgender.”​

 

The Board of Directors of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus strongly urge the Department of Public Safety to reverse their political policy decision immediately. While we expect the department will not take this necessary action, the strongest recourse we have is the judicial system and the sacred power to vote this November.

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