Transgender man sues over Indiana law blocking name change
A transgender man granted asylum by the US last year is challenging an Indiana law that prevents him from changing his first name to a male name that matches his gender identity.
The 31-year-old, who was brought to Indiana from Mexico illegally by his parents at age six, contends in his federal lawsuit that Indiana's law requiring anyone seeking a name-change to provide proof of US citizenship is unconstitutional and essentially forces him to "out" himself as transgender whenever he must display his driver's license.
That law was passed in 2010 amid what his attorneys say was a spate of "anti-immigrant lawmaking" in several states.
The man's federal lawsuit says his driver's license lists his sex as male alongside the female birth name he wants changed, a contradiction that's forced him to disclose to complete strangers the "deeply personal information" that he's transgender, causing him embarrassment, humiliation and fears of harassment and violence.
