Teen sues DMV in South Carolina after being told by the officials to remove his make-up. Chase Culpepper is a 16-year-old who identifies himself as of the male gender, but has opted to wear make-up and women's clothes on a daily basis.
Before having his photo for his driver's license taken just earlier this year, he was asked by the officials of the Department of Motor Vehicles to get rid of his make-up, according to the records of the court. Culpepper then decided to file a federal lawsuit against the state DMV.
DMV argued that Culpepper was, in fact, attempting to disguise himself by not appearing as male, especially with his daily use of make-up and the regular wearing of women's clothes.
The New York-based Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund called on DMV to permit Culpepper to retake the picture in June. However, the agency still has not responded to this request, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which was actually filed by Culpepper's mother on his behalf, contended that the policies of the DMV are unconstitutional and actually calls for a court order just so Culpepper could be allowed to dress however he wants for a future photo.
Michael Silverman, the Executive Director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, said in a statement that was recently released on Tuesday, "Chase is entitled to be himself and to express his gender non-conformity without interference from the South Carolina DMV. It is not the role of the DMV or any Government agency or employee to decide how men and women should look."
The spokesperson for the state DMV, Beth Parks, has not yet returned any calls regarding this matter. However, in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Parks was quick to dismiss the notion that the policies of the DMV on altered appearance did not apply to Culpepper despite the fact that he normally wears make-up on a regular basis.
Parks informed the LA Times regarding the issue of the teen sues DMV back in June, "I understand that he does wear make-up all the time. And, for women, regular everyday make-up is acceptable. But, it is unusual to see it on a young man."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
