A small letter on Michigan driver's licenses -- M or F -- represents a barrier that is now easier for transgender people to clear.

The Secretary of State's change in policy this month allowing people to change the gender markers on their driver's license without first having surgery is a win for transgender people across Michigan, a supporter of the change says.

"My name is legally changed," Charin Davenport said. "I will now be able to afford to change my gender marker on my license. All I have to do is get passport and I'm good to go."

Davenport, an adjunct professor at Delta College and Saginaw Valley State University, was born as a male named Charles.

She said she always knew she was a woman. She began hormone therapy in 2013 as part of the transition.

She said her gender identity is important and she felt marginalized under the previous policy.

Secretary of State spokesman Fred Woodhams confirmed the policy update and said it also allows court orders to be submitted to change gender on a drivers license. He said he could not comment on the pending litigation.

"This is an important step forward by the Secretary of State's office, and we hope it will result in many more transgender persons in Michigan being able to obtain accurate driver's licenses and state IDs," Jay Kaplan, staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan said.

"That said, we still don't believe the new policy is as good as the policies practiced by dozens of other states, and we are continuing to advocate for improvements."

Kaplan said the former policy prevented transgender people from having the correct gender on their state IDs and driver's licenses and required "gender confirmation surgery -- an invasive medical procedure that not all transgender people need, want or can afford to pay for," the ACLU said.

Jay Kaplan

The policy "created significant problems for Michigan's transgender community," the ACLU said, and led to the organization filing a lawsuit.

Love v. Johnson, filed in federal court in May 2015 by the ACLU, sought to overturn the secretary of state's ID policy as unconstitutional, dangerous, and a discriminatory refusal to respect gender identity, the ACLU said.

The Secretary of State changed its policy March 10, 2016, court records state.

Under the new policy, a passport denoting gender is enough proof to change the gender on a driver's license. Davenport said a note from a doctor stating a patient has made significant progress in his or her transition is required to change the gender denoted on a passport.

Recently, the Secretary of State altered its policy to allow applicants to present U.S. passports and passport cards in order to change the gender on their state IDs, Kaplan said.

The change allows people to put their true identities on their IDs, Davenport said, is a step toward progress.

"Every transgender person in Michigan is talking about this and trying to figure out how can I do this?" she said. "That's really cool."

Brad Devereaux is a reporter for MLive.com. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.