Transgender
Forum









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Transgender Legal Advisor
Ladies Rooms & Legal ID
By Carolyn Woodward
Got a legal question? Having some problems with the
law? TG Attorney Carolyn Woodward will try and
answer your questions. Contact her via Email at
carolynWWD@aol.com
or message publisher
Cindy Martin
and we'll make sure she gets your question.
Q:
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"I am soon to make my first public
appearance as Donna. I am concerned with a
legal issue. I am going shopping in a
mall, en femme, alone. What if nature
calls? Is it illegal for me to enter the
ladies room to relieve myself? What is the
likelihood of my getting in trouble if I
just enter, do my business, and leave? (I
live in California). Thanx "
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A:
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This is a topic I've written about before,
but it certainly never hurts to bring it
up again. First of all Donna, congrats on
that first big step out into the world.
Are you going out with an experienced
friend? Or alone? I recommend with an
experienced friend. That way, you can
follow her lead. But, to your specific
concern. Thank you for letting me know
where you live, Donna, it can make a
difference. Since you are fortunate enough
to live in California, what you propose is
legal. It is only illegal here to loiter
about public toilets for lewd or
lascivious purposeswhich is touching
one's genitals, buttocks, or breasts
(female) for the purpose of sexual
gratification. If all you are doing is
using the restroom for its intended
purpose you are not breaking the law. Oh,
and by the way, dear, its time for a
lesson. If you go in, relieve yourself,
and leave, you will stick out like a sore
thumb. Hows the make-up holding up? Need
more lipstick? Hair still in place? You
can, and should, tend to these things as
well. On the practical side, while you are
still new to public appearances, you might
consider places with single occupancy rest
rooms. That will guarantee that you are
alone. It can be difficult early on to go
to the ladies room and stand in line
without a little bit of panic. That's one
of the reasons you should go out with an
experienced friend if possible. She will
have already had that experience, and can
go to the ladies room with you for
reassurance and moral support. For any of
you reading this who are not in
California, I suggest checking local laws
first. You should consult an attorney, or
at the very least check with an
established gender organization which may
have had the issue researched. You may
find you can use the ladies room only if
you are a TS in transition, or perhaps not
at all. If that is the case, use the men's
room. That can be an interesting
experience, too. You will clear the guys
out, they will studiously ignore you, or
will enter and promptly leave. One
Halloween I was going to a party in San
Francisco and my garb was 17th century which meant I wore hip forms about three
feet across under my skirt. There was no
way I could get into the stall in the
ladies room, so I went to the men's room
and used the urinal. (Many in our
community would not use the men's room
when out and dressed under any
circumstances, but I've been going out in
public long enough that sometimes
expediency will rule the daythis was
one of those.) Sure enough, a man came in
while I was standing there, took one look,
said, "Oh, my!" and left. No big deal
there, either. No matter where you live,
be sure to check the local laws, comply
with them, and if the ladies room is open
to you, then remember to do the community
at whole a favor by being polite and
discreet.
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Q:
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Thanks for your lucid answers to the
complicated questions people have posed to
you. I have a different situation, and I'm
not sure there's a legal alternative. I'm
a happily married CD, 34, nominally
passable (whatever that means) who enjoys
an active social life as Jennifer.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I look ten
years younger when I'm dressed, which
leads to one problem: I often get carded at
restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. My only
alternative is to show them my drivers
license with my male name and photo, and
this is disconcerting for me and certainly
raises some eyebrows as they compare the
photo to the person in front of them. Part
one of my question is: is there a simple,
legal way to procure alternative
identification? I'd rather not get an ID
with my female photo and male name, if
that's the only choice. There are also
"novelty ID" shops that provide what looks
very much like a state ID, complete with
holograms, etc. What are the possible
penalties for being caught with such an
ID? Part two is more complicated. We had a
case here in Massachusetts recently where
a father kidnapped his children (20 years
ago) and relocated, in the process
establishing a new identity complete with
birth certificate and Social Security
number. The press described how easy this
is for someone with a bit of money, and in
fact the prosecutors are not pursuing any
charges related to the mis-identification,
as it wasn't used to defraud the
government or anyone else, only to hide
from the mother. For a TG person, how
dangerous is this?
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A:
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A couple of good questions, these. With
regard to the first part, an alternative
ID, that will depend upon where you live
and what qualifies as alternative I.D. in
terms of getting into bars, etc. If you
are looking for official ID, then go to
your department of motor vehicles
whatever it may be called, and see if you
can get an ID card, something often issued
for ID to people who have no license, with
your femme name and photo. Most won't
question it if it is official, just be
sure to give your real license to any cops
who stop you. The states I'm familiar with
won't do that, but I throw it out as a
possibility, not knowing where you live.
If you live in one of those places which
won't do so, then you need to try for some
other, unofficial ID. What would qualify?
Well, you could enroll as a part-time
student in a local college and use a
student IDso long as it has a date of
birth, these are often accepted for casual
purposes. Another possibility might be a
check cashing ID. In California we have
check cashing places which issue their own
ID, and I have seen people use these,
sucessfully, to identify themselves. See
if one of these places will issue an ID
with the appropriate name and photo.
Avoid, at all costs, the places which will
issue the ID's which look like the state
ones. That is a sure way to get in
trouble. Most bouncers know the
difference, and some places have a policy
of calling the police on fake ID's. Here
in California that kind of false
documentation can be charged as a felony,
with up to 3 years in prison. I would not
imagine your state being any different.
With regard to establishing a new
identity, like the kidnapper you describe,
I would not advise it. Yes, there are ways
to do it if you have money, and they tend
to involve crimes along the way. At least
the techniques I know of, which don't
involve court orderedtherefore
traceabledocument changes, are illegal.
If anyone knows a strictly legal way to
create an identity I would be fascinated
to hear about it. The one everyone knows
about from television, taking on the
identity of someone who was born in the
same year, but died shortly after birth,
is called false personation, and it is
also illegal. It also carries, in this day
and age, great risk of getting caught. For
instance, when you ask for a duplicate
birth certificate, a computer check could
be run to check against death
certificates. When you apply for a social
security number, assuming you get the
birth certificate, you will create
suspicion because with the exception of
immigrants, adults simply do not apply for
their first social security number. In
these days it is done for children, and
even adults my age (who did not need them
till they started working) who have never
worked got them years ago because the IRS
has, for years, disallowed exemptions for
any person not having one who was over the
age of two. In other words, don't do it. I
can offer an alternate suggestion, not as
a lawyer, because legal issues aren't
involved, but just as a matter of
practicality. It involves a little
chutzpah (I won't swear by the spelling
here), and some make-up skills. It also
assumes your state allows name changes
without court orders or marriage
certificates. Here in California, for
instance, we can change our names on our
driver's license by filling out a form.
The new license has the new name, and the
computer keeps the old one as an A.K.A.
(You can't change gender that easily, but
no one generally checks that anyway.) The
first step in preparation is to style your
hair (real or a wig) into an androgynous
style. Then, apply minimal make-up. Hide
your beard, wear a neutral colored
lipstick, a touch of blush, a little
mascara and lightly touch up your
eyebrows. Put on something you could wear
as male or female, such as a t-shirt, or
turtle neck. The idea is a effect an
androgynous look, and not look like you
have any make-up on. Practice it a lot.
You want to get it to the point where the
viewer will accept the photo as the gender
in which you present yourself. Then, you
go to the DMV and change your name by
adding a gender neutral first name (Sandy,
Lynn, Leslie, etc.). It will still have
the "M" in the gender spot, which most
people don't check, but you have an ID
which will work either way. You simply
don't use the new first name in everyday
life, a fairly common practice. It is a
compromise solution, yes, but it is
workable. Anyway, I hope this was helpful.
As always, please keep in mind that these
are general reflections on the questions
raised, and not specific legal advice.
Before proceeding with anything involving
a legal issue, check with a lawyer in your
state to be sure you are doing it properly
and within the law.
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