MS made it easier to change gender on IDs, licenses. It was reversed with one sentence
The first memo, announcing a new policy making it easier for Mississippians to change the gender marker on their driver’s licenses and state identification, was eight paragraphs long and accompanied by a new form that all Driver Service Bureau employees were instructed to accept.
Five days later, an email taking it all back consisted of a single sentence:
“The memorandum and form, dated October 28, 2021, and sent to all Driver Services Employees was sent without proper authorization and should not be utilized,” wrote Keith Davis, deputy commissioner of operations at the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
The email was addressed to “All Driver Services Staff” and sent at 4:12 p.m. on Nov. 2, about 10 hours after the Sun Herald first reported on the new policy.
It isn’t clear why the department felt it had to act so quickly after the policy change became more widely known.
The Sun Herald obtained the email through a public records request.
DPS told the Sun Herald the next day, on Nov. 3, that the new policy had been rescinded because the memorandum and form were sent without the knowledge and authorization of Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell.
At the time, Tindell did not respond to messages seeking comment on the rescinding of the policy.
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The new policy had been announced following a lawsuit filed by a transgender woman named Alexandra Dogwood, who was denied a license transfer in August at a DMV in Hattiesburg. She filed a notice of dismissal after the department issued the new policy, but when the policy was rescinded, she brought the suit back.
“It’s very disappointing because I really wanted other people to be able to benefit from this policy,” she said.
Chris Vignes, deputy commissioner of external affairs, told the Sun Herald the department can’t comment further because of ongoing litigation over the policy.
Governor’s office won’t comment
Tindell was appointed Public Safety Commissioner by Gov. Tate Reeves in May 2020.
Reeves made national news in March when he signed a bill banning trans girls and women from school sports, though he could not list a single case of that happening in Mississippi. He’s also criticized a Biden administration executive order against anti-transgender discrimination as a “push for kids to adopt transgenderism.”
Reeves’ press secretary, Bailey Martin, did not respond to a Sun Herald inquiry about whether Reeves had spoken with Tindell or anyone else at DPS about the gender marker change policy and new form.
For trans people, lacking a form of identification that matches their gender expression can expose them to hostility and even violence during everyday activities like flying. A 2015 survey found that up to 70% of transgender Americans have no form of identification that matches their gender expression.
The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), which tracks state policies for changing gender markers on identification, has given Mississippi a D, for “unclear, unknown, or unwritten policy.”
Top DPS officials lauded change
The Bureau of Driver Services announced the new policy and form after Dogwood sued DPS and Tindell on Oct. 21.
A DMV in Hattiesburg had refused to transfer her Missouri driver’s license because the gender marker differed from the one on her Mississippi birth certificate, even though states are supposed to recognize each other’s licenses..
Rather than defend the status quo, the department told Dogwood and her attorney, Matthew Lawrence, that they instead were changing the policy.
During a 20-minute phone call on Oct. 29, a recording of which was listened to by the Sun Herald, Deputy Commissioner Keith Davis thanked Dogwood for bringing the issue to their attention.
DPS General Counsel Eric Brown also participated on the call and said the state was “adopting a policy that other states already have in place.”
Later that day, Dogwood received her license in Hattiesburg with no issues.
After Dogwood got her license and after reviewing a copy of the memo and new gender designation form, Lawrence filed a notice to dismiss the lawsuit.
Two days later, transgender Mississippians who tried to change their gender markers under the new policy were told it had suddenly been rescinded, with no explanation as to when or whether it will be reinstated.
The lawsuit continues
Lawrence then filed a motion with the Hinds County Chancery Court to enforce Dogwood’s agreement with DPS, by requiring the department to reissue the policy and form.
Special Assistant Attorney General Jackie R. Bost, who is representing DPS in the lawsuit, on Thursday filed a response arguing that the voluntary dismissal means the case is over and can’t be revived for further litigation.
But Bost also issued a subpoena to Lawrence, demanding he turn over the recording of the phone call with DPS officials. Lawrence’s motion to enforce the settlement agreement says the terms were discussed on that call and that he will play it at a hearing.
DPS officials apparently did not record the call.
Lawrence said the recording isn’t his and he doesn’t intend to comply with the subpoena.
“You don’t get to listen to yourself say what you said so you know what you are allowed to lie about,” Lawrence said. “That’s what I think they’re trying to do.”
Dogwood said her experience at the Hattiesburg DMV in August had been a nightmare: Employees called her “sir,” read personal documents aloud for the whole room, and laughed as she left without a license.
After the policy change, she started to move on. Now she’s losing sleep again.
“I feel so bad for everybody who got their hopes up, when they saw this came out, and were excited to finally be able to do this, and then they went, just to be told no,” she said.
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
