Texas Just Tried To Get A List Of All Trans People. Other States Consider Registries.

AG Paxton in Texas attempted to get a list of all transgender people through the use of DMV gender marker changes. Ohio, Florida, and Virginia have also attempted to document trans people.

Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Today it has been reported that Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas attempted to get a record of all transgender people who have legally changed their gender on their drivers license in the state. Although the initial request only asked for the monthly numbers of those who changed gender markers, the request did state that they may need drivers licenses and ID numbers later - some of which were eventually delivered. This comes months after Paxton sent a letter to Governor Greg Abbott that stated the parents of transgender children in Texas should be investigated for child abuse. This policy has been nearly universally decried and led to harsh investigations and suicide attempts among trans youth in Texas. Fears of registries continue to grow in the transgender community as Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and other states all consider policies that would create lists of trans people in the state. These lists can ultimately be used for nefarious means, especially if you believe that states will continue to target transgender people with laws designed to further restrict and criminalize their lives.

The Washington Post reports that a public information request revealed that Texas was attempting to get a summary database of transgender people in the state and that this request could be deanonymized. Texas Department of Public Safety did ultimately pull records manually, including names and drivers license numbers. Importantly, the records were not limited to just drivers licenses - they included other documents including learners permits and ID cards available from birth. Ultimately they determined there were 16,466 people who changed their gender legally in the last 24 months. The data was shipped off in August to Paxton’s office.

The amount of harm that Paxton and Abbott can do with a database like this is immense, should he have or gain access to individualized records. If Texas prevails in its child abuse investigation initiative that is currently working its way through the courts, AG Paxton can bulk pull anyone who has had their gender changed under 18 years old and target their families for further abuse and harassment. If gender affirming care is indeed judged to be child abuse by Texas, many trans youth may be taken from their parents - this will be aided by database pulls like this. Furthermore, if authorities have access to trans people’s gender change records, this can be used against them in other laws that Texas is proposing - things like criminal drag bans that also target trans people, bathroom ban proposals, and laws designed to eliminate gender affirming care entirely. This grossly violates the 14th amendment and privacy rights and puts transgender people at risk.

Other states have considered creating registries of transgender people. Earlier this year, Florida’s medical board convened to ban gender affirming care for transgender youth. This board, handpicked by DeSantis, voted to mandate doctors no longer prescribe puberty blockers and hormone therapy, curtailing the rights of transgender people in one of the largest states. During the hearings, one of the board members openly proposed creating a registry of all transgender youth across the state:

Erin Reed @ErinInTheMorn

It sounds like they will not launch a registry but I want it on record that this was discussed.

Ohio earlier this year likewise proposed a registry of all transgender youth in the state. This registry would be comprehensive, including the numbers of minors treated, birth sex, age that treatment began, mental health conditions, and more. This registry was attached to a bill that would ban gender affirming care for transgender youth and withdraw them from their current care, forcibly medically detransitioning them. During hearings in Ohio, Representative Schmidt seemed to come out in support of labeling gender affirming care as child abuse and asked why Ohio wasn’t considering a similar initiative. Registries like this would make future enforcement against trans youth easier.

In Virginia, one school successfully did create a registry. Hanover County Public Schools in Virginia created a system where transgender people have to request the right to use the bathroom of their gender identity. These requests are then reviewed by a bathroom review panel and include legal documents and statements from other people who will use the same bathrooms. This will out all transgender students and will act as a defacto registry for that school systems. Other school systems across the United States have considered similar processes - in Oklahoma, for instance, transgender kids on sports teams have to submit biological sex affidavits which can likely be used in the creation of similar registries.

Registries are a frightening proposal to the transgender community. After a year where we have seen the most anti-trans laws proposed in history, trans people fear that these registries can be used for further harassment and abuse. This fear is well founded in states that have considered child abuse enforcement efforts like Texas, and some states are even considering making it illegal to be on HRT up to the age of 21 years old. Registries make it easier to enforce anti-trans policies and to target transgender individuals with state-sanctioned political violence. As more and more politicians advocate for the elimination of transgender people through a denial of life-saving medical care like gender affirming care, and as some politicians outright deny transgender people even exist, registries represent another step in the escalation against trans humanity, dignity, and existence.