(PCM) A sixteen year old by the name of Chase Culpepper recently passed his South Carolina driving test, however ran into a bit of an issue when it came time to snap the photo that would appear on his license.
While, Culpepper has “male” listed on his legal identification, he wears make-up, everyday to be exact, but was told that he would have to remove the make-up or else the license photo would not be taken.
The South Carolina DMV are standing by their policy which has not been updated since 2009 that states: “At no time will an applicant be photographed when it appears that he or she is purposefully altering his or her appearance so that the photo would misrepresent his or her identity”
A DMV spokesperson goes on to explain that because Culpepper’s license says he is a male than he needs to appear like a male in order for it to be a legitimate form of identification. The South Carolina DMV only honors transgender individuals if their name and gender has been legally changed through the court system.
The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund reached out to the DMV on behalf of Culpepper on June 9. They are saying that Culpepper’s rights have been violated and that he would like to re-take his photo wearing make-up.
There has been no update on the DMV’s response to the Transgender Legal Defense And Education Fund’s claim or if Culpepper has since been granted the opportunity to take another photo.