INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A transgender man granted asylum last year is suing Indiana over a state law that prevents him from changing his first name to a male name that matches his gender identity.
The 31-year-old was brought to Indiana from Mexico illegally by his parents at age six. His identity isn’t disclosed in his federal lawsuit, which contends Indiana’s law requiring anyone seeking a name-change to provide citizenship proof is unconstitutional.
His suit says he’s forced to “out” himself as transgender whenever he displays his driver’s license listing his gender as male alongside the female birth name Indiana won’t let him change.
His predicament arose from dissonance between state and federal rules. He’s among a growing number of LGBT people seeking asylum for fear of persecution in their countries of origin.
