North Carolina Beats The Chip

House Passes Bill Opposing Real ID Act
c/o Equality North Carolina

Equality North Carolina applauds the North Carolina House for passing a bill opposing implementation of the federal REAL ID Act. The federal law places arduous, unfunded requirements on the Division of Motor Vehicles and raises serious concerns for individual privacy. Equality NC opposes REAL ID due to its implications for transgender North Carolinians.

House Bill 2136, "Oppose REAL ID Act of 2005," passed its final reading in the House 69-55. Unfortunately, with the legislative session adjourning Friday, it cannot get through the Senate this year and will have to be reintroduced in 2009. However, it still sends a strong message to the U.S. Congress that they must make changes to address the deep flaws in the REAL ID Act.
Transgender people need ID that accurately reflects their updated information and, for safety reasons, information that reveals a gender change must be kept private. The Real ID Act puts up additional barriers to acquiring ID that reflects a person’s new name and it makes information about a person’s former name easier to discover, potentially outing transgender people to whomever scans their ID.

When transgender people do not have updated information on their ID, or when information about a gender change is made known, transgender people are vulnerable to increased discrimination and even violence.