Press Contact: Johnathan Gooch, [email protected], (512) 922-4040
Austin, TX – Today Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion stating that court orders from state judges instructing state agencies to update individual’s gender markers are invalid. Paxton also instructed state agencies to undo any updates to ID documents based on such court orders.
In 2022 when Paxton issued a different legal opinion targeting trans people, the Texas Supreme Court clearly stated that he was overstepping: “[I]t is well-settled that an Attorney General opinion interpreting the law cannot alter the pre-existing legal obligations of state agencies or private citizens.”
There are an estimated 120 thousand trans people living in the state of Texas. The Movement Advancement Project estimates that 68% of trans people do not have IDs that match their gender identity.
This opinion comes in during the 89th Legislative Session, where Texas lawmakers have filed over 180 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills.
Statement from Brad Pritchett, Interim CEO of Equality Texas:
“Ken Paxton is the lawyer for the state, his job is to interpret law, not to make it. So, it’s important to point out that his opinion is just that—an opinion. But if state agencies follow this directive, it will jeopardize the safety of the nearly 100 thousand trans people in the state.
“The trans community in Texas is scared. Updating a driver’s licence takes years of effort and legal expenses. The people going through the process to update their documents are trying to honor the law by having an ID that matches the way they live and move through the world. Now law-abiding Texans are being undermined by the state’s top lawyer attacking the validity of legal court orders from state judges.”
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Equality Texas is the largest statewide organization working to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Texans through political action, education, community organizing, and collaboration.