A new report from the Washington Post on Wednesday, December 14, says Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, used a state agency to collect data on transgender Texans. Paxton sent a request to the Texas Department of Public Safety in June to find every ID of people who changed their gender in the past two years.
A message from the chief of DPS’ driver license division obtained by the Washington Post says Paxton's office sent a request looking for the total number of changes to gender.
"We won’t need DL/ID numbers at first but may need to have them later if we are required to manually look up documents," the request read.
DPS identified over 16,000 cases where someone changed their gender on their ID. DPS officials then decided a manual search would be necessary to find the reason behind the change.
"Ultimately, our team advised the AG’s office the data requested neither exists nor could be accurately produced. Thus, no data of any kind was provided," DPS spokesman Travis Considine told the Washington Post.
Considine declined to say who in Paxton's office made the request. The Post did not find a reason as to why Paxton sought the information on transgender people. Ian Pittman, an attorney representing Texas parents of transgender children investigated by the state, told to the Post that the information could be used to target trans individuals.
"They’ve already targeted children and parents. The next step would be targeting adults. And what better way than seeing what adults had had their sex changed on their driver’s licenses?” Pittman told the Washington Post.
The efforts to find data on transgender Texans come as Paxton, Gov. Greg Abbott, and other Republican leaders are trying to stop access to resources for transgender people or those who are transitioning. Abbott signed a bill into law in October 2021 that banned transgender student athletes from participating in sports that align with their gender identity.
Anti-trans and LGBTQ+ bills are also on the agenda for the upcoming 2023 legislative session, including one bill that will criminalize gender-affirming care.
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December 15, 2022 at 03:10AM
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Texas AG Paxton tried to gather information on trans people - mySA
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