(not so) breaking news!
I got a drivers license from the state of ny! let me tell you about it...
over the break i tried to get a drivers license in maryland but they wouldn't let me cause they said i needed a legal change of sex which would have been a huge annoying thing with having to get a lawyer and appear in court and having to deal with stupid judges. i was really upset about it.
since candice and i are going to san fran over spring break she pushed me to see if i could at least get a state issued ID card from ny state since i go to school here. (thank you candice!)
i went to the white plains DMV with: my passport and MA drivers license (both with old name and sex), and i brought my SS card, school transcript, legal name change document, and surgeon's letter (all with new info). the woman at the desk was really friendly. she just had to go ask her supervisor about the specifics. what i had to do was fill out an application for a ny license under my old info and another one with my new info. so they put my in the system first and then they change the name and sex. she even said i didn't even need as many documents as i brought. so she took my picture. i guess i was trying to look tough or something so she told me "we're not that serious here" and laughed and took another one of me, smiling. she gave me a number and i waited in line for about 5 minutes.
so the guy who took my info was a big black man with a gold tooth in front. and he asked me what i needed to get done. i said im applying for a ny license and i need to have my name and sex changed on those docs. he said "you got a sex change?" yep. "to what?!" haha. male. he was fascinated. the woman at the next booth was also impressed. she told me "they" did a good job. like i went into some amazing machine and came out lookin like a boy. the fee for a license is about 42$ and then it was done. as i was leaving the big man says "welcome to our side!" ha! that was truly amazing. although i imagine their reactions would have been not as freindly if i was m to f, it was a remarkable experience.
now i don't feel like a criminal everywhere i go! what an amazing freedom it is to have a license that matches who you are.
over the break i tried to get a drivers license in maryland but they wouldn't let me cause they said i needed a legal change of sex which would have been a huge annoying thing with having to get a lawyer and appear in court and having to deal with stupid judges. i was really upset about it.
since candice and i are going to san fran over spring break she pushed me to see if i could at least get a state issued ID card from ny state since i go to school here. (thank you candice!)
i went to the white plains DMV with: my passport and MA drivers license (both with old name and sex), and i brought my SS card, school transcript, legal name change document, and surgeon's letter (all with new info). the woman at the desk was really friendly. she just had to go ask her supervisor about the specifics. what i had to do was fill out an application for a ny license under my old info and another one with my new info. so they put my in the system first and then they change the name and sex. she even said i didn't even need as many documents as i brought. so she took my picture. i guess i was trying to look tough or something so she told me "we're not that serious here" and laughed and took another one of me, smiling. she gave me a number and i waited in line for about 5 minutes.
so the guy who took my info was a big black man with a gold tooth in front. and he asked me what i needed to get done. i said im applying for a ny license and i need to have my name and sex changed on those docs. he said "you got a sex change?" yep. "to what?!" haha. male. he was fascinated. the woman at the next booth was also impressed. she told me "they" did a good job. like i went into some amazing machine and came out lookin like a boy. the fee for a license is about 42$ and then it was done. as i was leaving the big man says "welcome to our side!" ha! that was truly amazing. although i imagine their reactions would have been not as freindly if i was m to f, it was a remarkable experience.
now i don't feel like a criminal everywhere i go! what an amazing freedom it is to have a license that matches who you are.