Column: For equality, remove gender markers from driver’s licenses

Sex markers on driver’s licenses increase the likelihood of harm toward transgender and gender nonconforming members of our community. By removing sex markers from limited-purpose driver’s licenses, transgender and gender non-conforming people will be secure anytime they have to present their ID. This is important because Hawaii has the highest percentage of transgender people of any U.S. state.

Hawaii’s Legislature is taking an essential step in expanding the rights of transgender and gender non-conforming people in Hawaii by putting forth Senate Bill 568 and House Bill 1245, the “No License to Discriminate Bill,” which are sponsored, respectively, by Sen. Karl Rhoads and House Speaker Rep. Scott Saiki.

According to the FBI, hate crimes against transgender people have increased by 300 percent since 2003. Hawaii may be isolated, but it is not immune to transgender animus.

In a recent report, the Hawaii Department of Health detailed widespread discrimination and challenges faced by transgender youth, including one-third skipping school because they felt unsafe.

This session, legislators are sponsoring the No License to Discriminate Bill to prevent transgender discrimination and create the opportunity for substantial cultural reform. The bill is straightforward and directly confronts gender discrimination by removing sex markers from limited-purpose licenses.

As a result of the bill, the transgender and gender non-conforming community in Hawaii would be safer and more comfortable being themselves. Gender identification is fundamentally personal. This bill would allow an applicant for a limited-purpose driver’s license to have a valid driver’s license that is not sex marked. Total elimination of sex markers is an effective way to prevent discrimination against transgender and gender non-conforming people here.

Currently, if transgender people in Hawaii want to change the sex marker on their driver’s license, they have to go through a process that is burdensome and assumes that gender is permanent or not fluid. To update gender on a Hawaii ID, a transgender or gender nonconforming person needs to fill out a gender designation form that only offers “M” or “F.” If a person does not adhere to traditional gender norms, whether in presentation or identity, they are essentially erased by the process.

The elimination of a gender marker prevents gender identity discrimination by relieving transgender individuals from invasive questioning and everyday discrimination that arises when they don’t meet the expectations of the classification on their ID. For example, without gender markers, transgender or gender nonconforming persons could show their driver’s licenses when requested and not be concerned about how their gender is perceived by the individual viewing the driver’s license.

To be sure, there are some challenges to eradicating sex markers, the biggest obstacle being the Real ID Act because gender markers are required on IDs used to travel on airplanes. The No License to Discriminate Bill modifies licenses that do not need to meet the requirements of the Real ID Act but are still valid for driving in the state.

Importantly, Sen. Rhoads and Rep. Nadine Nakamura have introduced companion measures that amend Hawaii’s regular, REAL ID-compliant licenses. SB 429 and HB 1165 add a third, gender-neutral category that would be helpful in educating the public about the existence of transgender people and gender non-conforming people in Hawaii — as well as the concrete benefit of being able to use a Real ID-compliant driver’s license when traveling or when otherwise needed.

Driver’s licenses are a privilege, but sex markers on one’s driver’s license are neither useful nor necessary, and overcoming some of these logistical obstacles is well worth the effort in order to limit discrimination and move our state forward toward greater justice and equality.