Georgia Court To Hear Arguments Thursday, Sept. 11, in Lambda Legals Case Seeking Name Change for Transgendered Woman

(Augusta, Georgia -- Wednesday, September 10, 2003) In a hearing set for Thursday, September 11, a state judge will hear a Richmond County transgendered woman’s request to change her name to reflect her gender.

“It is an ordeal each time Vickee Gatliff does simple things like write a check or use a credit card because her driver’s license and her appearance don’t match,” said Greg Nevins an Atlanta-based Senior Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, which represents Gatliff. “We are only asking that Vickee be allowed to change her name from Ben Gatliff to Vickee Gatliff. This request is typically just a matter of procedure.”

This spring when Gatliff, a male to female transgendered woman, requested a name change, a judge denied her application, saying she first needed to undergo complete sex reassignment surgery.

Established medical guidelines provide that people seeking sex reassignment surgery should live fully as a member of the gender to which they are transitioning. The law allows people to change their names unless there’s a reason to suspect that the name change is being requested to commit criminal fraud, according to Lambda Legal.

“There’s no legal basis for denying this name change,” Nevins said. “Meanwhile, Vickee is in a double bind. The judge says that she must have surgery before he’ll grant a name change, and the doctors say she has to change her name before she has surgery.”

For the time being, Gatliff is without accurate identification. It is a struggle for Vickee to write a check, use a credit card or fly on an airplane because her picture identification and name don’t match her appearance.

“I’m stuck in limbo. I can’t go forward and I won’t go back,” said Gatliff. “I lived as a man for 50 years and did all the things society told me I should do, but it never really felt like me.”

What: Oral arguments in transgender name change case.

Who: Lambda Legal Atlanta-based Senior Staff Attorney Greg Nevins and Vickee Gatliff, plaintiff.

When: Thursday, September 11, 2003, 11:45 AM Eastern

Where: Richmond County Superior Court, City-County Building, 530 Greene Street, Room 312, Augusta, Georgia

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgendered people, and people with HIV or AIDS through impact litigation, education and public policy work. ###

Contact: Lisa Hardaway, 212-809-8585 ext: 266, pgr: 888-987-1971