Story Archive

Prove It

When it was time to renew her driver’s license, Nakia Grimes, 37, of Clayton County, Ga., was required to bring in her birth certificate. She went to the state Vital Records Services for a copy, and that’s when she noticed the error: the “male” box was checked. She told the records clerk there was an error, but “She said I needed to go have a Pap exam, have a doctor write a note verifying you’re a woman, and bring it back,” she said — “notarized.” When a reporter intervened for Grimes with Vital Records Services, the agency’s director said such a demand is “not protocol” and promised to look into things. Finally, someone pointed out that Grimes’s name is on another record in the office: she’s listed as her son’s mother, so the state considered that proof enough, and changed her gender designation to female. (RC/WAGA Atlanta) ...There’s nothing like internal conflict to make a bureaucracy move.