Del. OKs bill allowing name change for transgender inmates

Jonathan Starkey | The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal

WILMINGTON, Del. — State lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to legislation that would allow transgender inmates in Delaware prisons to seek a name change based on their gender identity.

The measure, which passed the state House last month,cleared the Senate by a 13-5 vote and now heads to Gov. Jack Markell for his expected signature.

Markell administration officials sought the legislative change after a transgender inmate at Baylor Women's Correctional Institution was blocked by two Delaware courts in an attempt to change his name based on the fact that he identifies as a man.

Under current law, inmates are only allowed to change their name based on religious beliefs.

Last October, Lakisha Lavette Short, with help from the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, petitioned the Delaware Supreme Court to change his name to "Kai" based on gender identity. Short's lawyers claimed that Delaware's law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The legislation that passed the Senate on Tuesday is expected to put an end to that legal challenge.

"We think that it's important to have a change like this that will apply to everyone that's in this situation," said Kathleen MacRae, executive director of the ACLU of Delaware. "We're satisfied with this legislative action. It alleviates the concerns that we raised in the lawsuit."

Markell backs the change, saying through a spokeswoman last month that he "supports the DOC's ongoing efforts to make reasonable accommodations for inmates in their care and this bill is in line with those efforts."

Curt Shockley, deputy chief of community corrections at the Delaware Department of Corrections, testified in the Senate on Tuesday that allowing name changes will not compel prison officials to change an inmate's place of incarceration.

An earlier version of the legislation included a provision clarifying that the Department of Correction would not be required to change the place of incarceration or provide any special accommodations for transgender inmates granted a name change.

Republican Sen. Colin Bonini opposed the legislation on the Senate floor, expressing surprise that lawmakers were even debating the issue. "I'm standing and debating a bill for gender name change in our prisons," Bonini said. "Who would have thought?"

Bonini predicted that Delaware would face an ultimate legal challenge for refusing to transfer a transgender inmate to a correctional facility, either a men's or women's prison, that matches their gender identity.

Bonini asked Shockley how the state would handle such a situation. "I would think the department would object and we would litigate that," Shockley said.

Short was convicted in 2004 in Sussex County Superior Court of first-degree robbery, two weapons counts and aggravated menacing and was convicted in 1998 for second-degree assault.

Delaware Superior Court Judge M. Jane Brady denied Short's petition for a name change in August 2014, writing that no fundamental right exists to change one's name. Brady found that Delaware had legitimate reasons to deny inmate name changes "because the state needs the ability to quickly and accurately identify people in prison and on parole."

The legislation passed with a unanimous Democratic vote and narrow Republican support on Tuesday.