News report: in Florida, a guy changed his name to his wife’s name when they got married. Filed exactly the same paperwork with the Florida DMV to get a new licence as a woman does on marriage who takes her husband’s name.
DMV originally issued a new licence to him, but after further review, they’ve suspended his licence on the basis that he obtained it by fraud.
Well… if the law really is written in a way that these “quick and easy” marriage name changes really are only for women, you can’t really blame the DMV for following the law. It’s a stupid law though, if it is written that way.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it is the case in most States. I think it’s only in the past ten years or so that the law has been applied without discrimination in California- I remember reading about a couple who sued the State and thus succeeded in having the law changed. I’m pretty sure I was already living in California when I read about it, so I’m thinking it couldn’t have been much more than 10 years ago (it is possible, though, that I read about it before moving here).
There’s a certain stupidity in approving the process when he applied originally then a year later finally figuring out what State law really says.
It would be nice for them to fight it like the California couple did- that’s the only way it will change.
According to the article, Florida doesn’t mention gender of the person changing name due to marriage in their law.
Been there, done that. YMMV by state, but generally, you have to start the process with Social Security. Once you have a new SS card, then you can go on to change your name elsewhere.
But they didn’t follow the law (if there is one, as questioned in the article). They took his application and gave him a new driver’s licence, then a year later suspended it on the basis of fraud, being his gender - which is something that they knew, since it’s on the driver’s licence.
This seems like a clear case of gender discrimination. I hope it goes to court, as it looks like an obvious win for the guy. I wonder if Bricker will agree.
NM, didn’t fully read the OP.
Articles like this make me so glad I’m no longer a Floridian… There are too many crazies working in the state’s gummint, among other places.
OK, I’ll admit, one of my favorite BBQ places is in Jacksonville, but it’s not enough to redeem the state.
It’s been more than ten years, because I’ve had several friends take the woman’s name, or create alltogether new names from both natal-family names.
Sombody at the Flordia DMV probabaly thinks men taking a woman’s name is the first step to allowing gay marriage.
As someone who had an utterly bizarre name-change issue with SS, this is about like saying “you need to begin with your birth certificate.”
You typically can’t change your SS account without court-issued documents. Sometimes even a marriage license is not enough.
Then what is? “Sometimes”? What times does a marriage license work, and what times does it not, or are you just making this up?
I don’t know the difference, but it was reported to me by two recently married women in our circle of acquaintances that their license was rejected as a name-change document and they had to obtain a court order - which was trivial to get, relatively speaking, but should have been unnecessary.
FWIW, this was around 2003-4 when 9/11 hysteria was still at its peak, and during an earlier attempt to fix a name problem on my own SS record. From the days when you could fill out a postcard and drop it in the mail (the source and era of my own problem) to something akin to being vetted for CIA clearance, SS name issues have changed. They are back to something reasonable; I had no problem getting my name issue resolved in 2010.
And if SS sends you an incorrect card you can’t get it fixed over the phone even if you spent a goddamned hour with a rep - you have to go in. Again.
I left out the part about being within some window of time (IIRC, 90 days) where you can go to the SS office with your marriage license or other appropriate document.
The point is that your first contact with a government entity is with Social Security. Once you change your name with them, you can then go to the DMV, (and if applicaable, to the State Department to update your passport) and once you have your new license, then it’s off to your banks, credit cards, etc.
Actually, here in SC the DMV didn’t need my new SS card. Which is good because it took forever to get that fixed.
When I had my name changed, in Florida, in 2010, I had to take my copy of the marriage certificate and my current drivers license with the old name to the SS office. They had my card changed and mailed to me with my new name, which I took along with my marriage certificate and two proofs of residence to the DMV to get my license changed. That is the current process in this state.
9/11 is responsible for at least some of the hassle in getting driver’s licenses, etc. renewed. I was unable to renew my license after 50 years under the same name, in 3 states, without providing either a SS card (had to be a real card, not just a number or a copy), or a copy of my birth certificate. Oddly, the original was not acceptable, it had to be a certified copy.
I fail to see how this kind of procedure, if it had been in effect prior to 9/11, would have prevented it from happening.
i think there is a drivers license and now a new drivers license/ID card. the new card requires that info. a drivers license only card might be able to be renewed as usual though they are being phased out.
Well, you’re talking about the difference between reality and a band-aid solution that makes all participants feel good without actually accomplishing much. (A pull-tab solution, in Cecilspeak.)
You’re also talking about pushing everything further towards a national ID without actually issuing such a thing as a national ID - by forcing every public record to be tied to a validated SS number, it’s de-facto without being de-fensible.