Transgender Ohioans who want to update the gender indicated on their driver’s licenses or state IDs can no longer do that with a form that’s been used for years. And the state’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group says that’s a sudden and cumbersome change.
Equality Ohio said it found out Tuesday that the declaration of gender change form signed by a medical or mental health provider that's been in use since 2009 will no longer be accepted by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to change a gender marker.
"You are now required to have your birth certificate updated and present that before you can update your driver's license, which is new information—and also will make it much more difficult for especially transgender people to change the information on their license to match their identity," said Equality Ohio Executive Director Dwayne Steward in an interview.
An updated birth certificate can be obtained in only certain counties in Ohio. Equality Ohio said it's aware of eight counties processing birth certificate gender marker updates.
“It is definitely one extra step, and it does feel targeted for sure," said Steward. "We also are wondering if this is a voter suppression move right before the election.”
But Equality Ohio said an outdated gender marker doesn’t prevent someone from voting. Steward said anyone with questions about this new requirement should reach out to its legal clinic.
"It does not change how our legal team is going to support our community," Steward said. "We're going to continue to help with making gender marker changes for our community that we've always done. But we really want people to reach out to our legal team before they move forward with gender change so we can help them navigate this."
The BMV said in a statement that the declaration of gender change form is not compatible with a change in state law in the Republican-approved budget last year. That provision states: "It is the policy of the state of Ohio to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality."
