Transgender Woman Harassed by DMV Employee

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-10-29 16:00:00 UTC
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Going to the DMV is already a special sort of Hell without employees inventing new ways to make the whole experience even worse. But Amber Yust had to deal with more than just long lines, a stuffy waiting room, and an endless request for more paperwork. She had to deal with serious transphobia. And it didn't stop at the DMV doors: it followed her home.

Jordan Rubenstein reports on the Gay Rights blog that Yust, a transgender woman, was getting her name changed on her driver's license in a San Francisco DMV. Actually, that official part of the visit went pretty smoothly: she came prepared with a court order for the change, and went home with her shiny new license.

Soon after, she received a letter at her home. It contained all the typical hateful rhetoric: that she was going to Hell (one similar to the DMV?), that she was an abominated, that she had done an evil thing. The letter was festively decorated with Biblical quotes being used to back up the vocal transphobia.

The DMV employee who helped Yust committed a severe breach of security by taking the woman's private information and used it to send a harassing and hate-filled letter. People shouldn't have to fear that providing personal information to government employees will give somebody the power to harass and threaten them.

The California DMV must hold the employee responsible accountable, investigate this case, and assure its customers that this kind of breach of trust is not standard practice at the Department Motor Vehicles.

Photo credit: Chris Harrison

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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