Alaska Sued After Denying License Identifying Transgender Woman as Female

By Stephanie Samuel, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Alaska on Monday after the state denied a transgender woman a license listing her as female.

The ACLU contends the state denied their client, identified only as K.L. in court documents, a license that accurately expressed K.L.'s gender identity when it canceled a license listing her as female.

The state Division of Motor Vehicles reportedly allows transgendered individuals to change their reported sex if they can show evidence of a sex change. However, K. L. had not undergone any such surgery and could not produce any documentation.

ACLU of Alaska Executive Director Jeffrey Mittman blasted the decision, saying, "No one should have to disclose sensitive personal information or be forced to make major medical decisions in order to get an accurate driver's license."

ACLU hopes to give all transgender individuals in the state the right to correct the gender marker on their driver's licenses without undergoing major surgery.

The State Department has already made compromises for transgendered men and women. According the ACLU, the department no longer requires transgender people to have surgery before it changes the gender marker on passports.

However, Alliance Defense Fund Litigation Counsel Daniel Blomberg argues, "Courts have recognized sex is a biological fact, not a state of mind. Policies designed to confuse the two are not well grounded."

K. L., a pilot who has undergone hormone therapy and a name change in order to appear as a woman, already has a passport and work documents marked female.

"Having a driver's license that doesn't match my appearance and identity would place me at risk of discrimination and physical harm," said K.L., who has lived as a woman for two years.

The Christian Post contacted the Alaska DMV to comment on its gender policies. The calls were not immediately returned.