Texas Scorecard by Will Biagini March 17, 2025
Attorney General Paxton’s order says that state agencies should correct driver’s licenses or birth certificates “unlawfully” altered to conform with a person’s self-identified gender. Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote that district courts in Texas do not have the power to order state agencies to change a person’s biological sex on driver’s licenses or birth certificates to conform with gender identity.
The attorney general’s Friday opinion concluded with a command to state agencies—such as the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of State Health Services—to immediately correct such changes that already might have been made.
The issue goes back to August 2024, when DPS rolled out a new policy to stop gender-confused people from changing their biological sex on driver’s licenses. DPS then became aware of court orders attempting to strong-arm the agency into making the changes.
Paxton penned the opinion in response to a September 2024 letter from former DPS Director Steven McCraw asking whether or not district courts can legally require state agencies to alter biological sex on state identification documents.
McCraw’s letter also revealed that people seeking to have their biological sex changed on identification documents via court orders often search for “friendly” judges in Bexar and Travis counties.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/ag-paxton-district-courts-cannot-order-changes-of-biological-sex-on-drivers-licenses/
