TLDEF Files Federal Lawsuit against South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles on Behalf of Gender Non-conforming Teen who was Forced to Remove Makeup for His Driver's License Photo 
 
 September 2, 2014 - TLDEF today filed a federal lawsuit against the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles on behalf of a 16-year-old gender non-conforming teen who was targeted for discrimination last March. When he attempted to get his first driver’s license, Chase Culpepper was told by the DMV that he could not take his license photo unless he removed the makeup that he wears on a regular basis. 
 
 The suit – brought by Chase’s mother Teresa Culpepper on his behalf as a minor – asks the court to rule that denying Chase the freedom to wear his everyday makeup in his license photo constitutes sex discrimination and violates his right to free speech and expression under the United States Constitution. It also seeks a ruling under the U.S. and South Carolina Constitutions that the DMV’s photo policy is unconstitutionally vague, too broad, and lets DMV employees arbitrarily decide how a driver's license applicant should look, without regard for the rights of the people they are supposed to serve. 
 
 Chase wears makeup and androgynous or girls’ clothing on a regular basis. On March 3rd, 2014, he went to the DMV office in Anderson, SC with his mother to get his license. He had already passed his driving test and was dressed as he normally does. DMV employees told Chase that they would not take his license photo while he was wearing makeup and that he did not look the way DMV employees thought that a boy should. He was told that he could not wear a “disguise” and that he needed to “look male” in his license photo. Chase wanted his license and ultimately removed as much makeup as he could and had his photo taken by DMV employees. But he left the office feeling humiliated after changing the way he normally looks. 
 
 “My clothing and makeup reflect who I am,” Chase said. “The Department of Motor Vehicles should not have forced me to remove my makeup simply because my appearance does not match what they think a boy should look like. I just want the freedom to be who I am without the DMV telling me that I’m somehow not good enough.” 
 
 On June 9, TLDEF sent a letter to the South Carolina DMV asking that Chase be given the opportunity to retake his license photo while dressed as he normally does, with makeup. The letter explained that forcing Chase to alter his everyday appearance was discriminatory and violated Chase’s constitutional rights. But the department never responded to the letter and TLDEF now brings this lawsuit on Chase’s behalf. 
 
 “Chase is entitled to be himself and to express his gender non-conformity without interference from the South Carolina DMV,” said TLDEF Executive Director Michael Silverman. “It is not the role of the DMV or any government agency or employee to decide how men and women should look. Chase should be able to get a driver’s license without being subjected to sex discrimination.” 
 
 Along with TLDEF, Chase’s mother is standing by him. “As a mother, it broke my heart to see Chase being forced to be someone that he isn’t. Every time he pulls out his license, he is reminded of that, and that makes it even worse,” said Teresa Culpepper. “I love my son just the way he is. The DMV should not have treated him this way.” 
 
 “I want to take my license photo again, with makeup, so I can be myself and express to the world who I truly am,” Chase added. 
 
 The suit, Teresa Culpepper v. Kevin A. Shwedo, et al., is pending in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Columbia Division. Fulbright & Jaworski LLP and Wyche, P.A. are pro bono co-counsel for Chase with TLDEF. We are grateful for their assistance. 

 0 Gender non-conforming teen sues over driver's license photo 
 
 COLUMBIA, S.C. - Channel 9 was in Columbia Tuesday, as 16-year-old Chase Culpepper accused the DMV of forcing him to be something he's not. 
 
 
 
 Culpepper listed himself as male on the driver's license application. However, when it comes to how he dresses and lives his life, he considers himself to be gender non-conforming. 
 
 
 
 Culpepper looks nothing like your typical teen boy. Talking to reporters on Tuesday, he wore lady's jewelry, shoes, clothes and full makeup. 
 
 
 
 When he went to get his driver's license in Anderson County in March, the DMV employees would not take his picture. 
 
 
 
 "They told me that I could not wear disguises and I need to look more like a boy," Culpepper said. 
 
 
 
 The state requires that anything that alters someone's appearance cannot be worn for driver's license photos. Culpepper said that doesn't apply to him because he wears makeup and women's clothes daily and that is his true appearance. 
 
 
 
 "I was horrified and saddened by what happened to him," said his mother, Teresa Culpepper. 
 
 
 
 He was asked to remove his face makeup and he went to bathroom twice to do that before they would take his picture. He said the final picture isn’t who he is. 
 
 
 
 "I just want my license photo to accurately reflect me," Chase Culpepper said. 
 
 
 
 On the steps of the state house in Columbia, Chase Culpepper announced a federal sex-discrimination lawsuit against the DMV. 
 
 
 
 Michael Silverman heads the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. He called the DMV's actions sex stereotyping. 
 
 
 
 "It’s a violation of his personal rights and his right to free speech under the constitution," Silverman said. "It's not the role of the DMV or any government agency or employee to decide how men and women ought to look." 
 
 
 
 Chase Culpepper's mother said she never expected there would be a problem that day at the DMV. 
 
 
 
 "It was heartbreaking to see my son humiliated because he wears makeup," she said. 
 
 
 
 Late Tuesday a DMV spokeswoman told Channel 9 the agency cannot comment on a pending lawsuit. 
 
 
 
 The family is not seeking any damages or money but only that Chase Culpepper be allowed to retake his driver's license photo wearing makeup. 
 
 
 
 The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund is also asking the court to require South Carolina to clarify its rules on the issue which they call vague and discriminatory. 
 
 
 
 Silverman said he'd hoped the filing of the lawsuit would cause the DMV to reconsider its position. He said he knew of no other similar lawsuit before the courts in any other state. 
 
 
 
 

 A transgender rights group is asking the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles to allow a gender non-conforming teen to retake his driver's license photo while wearing makeup. 
 
 Chase Culpepper -- a 16-year-old who wears makeup and androgynous or girls' clothing on a daily basis -- went to the DMV in Anderson on March 3 with his mother to get his driver's license after passing his driver's test, according to a press release obtained by The Huffington Post. However, he was told he couldn't be photographed while wearing makeup. 
 
 DMV employees said he did not look the way they thought a boy should, and one individual called his makeup a "disguise," the release notes. Culpepper ultimately removed his makeup and got his photo taken, but the experience left a mark. 
 
 “This is who I am and my clothing and makeup reflect that,” he says in the release. “The Department of Motor Vehicles should not have forced me to remove my makeup simply because my appearance does not meet their expectations of what a boy should look like. I just want the freedom to be who I am without the DMV telling me that I’m somehow not good enough.” 
 
 In the end, Chase was told that he could not wear makeup simply because boys typically do not wear makeup. It was not because his makeup acted as any type of disguise of his identity. Sex stereotypes like this do not justify a government agency’s restriction of constitutionally protected expression. 
 
 On June 9, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) sent a letter to the South Carolina DMV on behalf of Culpepper. The letter, which alleges the teen's constitutional rights were violated, reads, in part: 
 
 TLDEF asked that Culpepper be granted the opportunity to retake his license photo. Culpepper says: “I want the DMV to take my picture again, with makeup, so I can put this incident behind me. 
 
 However, a representative from the DMV told HuffPost that it is unlikely Culpepper will be able to retake the picture because of a 2009 clause added to the driver's license photo policy. The clause reads: "At no time can an applicant be photographed when it appears that he or she is purposefully altering his or her appearance so that the photo would misrepresent his or her identity." 
 
 According to the rep, the DMV works with law enforcement on these decisions. 
 
 "If it says male [on the license], that's what they're gonna look for. They expect the photo to be of a man," she said. "If they stop somebody and they're dressed as a woman, they can straighten that out." 
 
 (h/t Pink News)
– A 16-year-old in South Carolina wants a driver's license photo redo—but not to look better. Chase Culpepper, who describes himself as "gender nonconforming," says he wears makeup and women's clothing and jewelry every day, and that when he was forced to take off the makeup for his photo in March he was made to look different than he is. "They told me that I could not wear disguises and I need to look more like a boy," Chase told WSOCTV. But Chase, who listed himself as male on his application, says it is not a disguise but "who I am." The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, which filed a federal lawsuit against the South Carolina DMV yesterday to allow Chase to take the photo with his makeup on, also wants the court to require that the state clarify its rule. "It's not the role of the DMV or any government agency or employee to decide how men and women ought to look," the group's head said. The teen's mother, Teresa Culpepper, tells HuffPost Live that Chase is actually a "stickler for policy and procedure," and that he wants to retake the photo so that it is an accurate depiction of who he is. He is not seeking any monetary compensation. (One student wasn't allowed back to middle school after transitioning to a girl.)