TENNESSEE: Married Gay Woman Refused New Driver's License, Cops Called

The Tennessee Highway Patrol had to be called to a DMV office after a newly-married lesbian refused to return her just-issued driver's license when employees told her they had mistakenly granted her name change request.

Traci Turpin of Knoxville married her female partner in Washington DC on Tuesday. Gay marriage is legal in the District of Columbia. "We had a nice ceremony. Shed some tears and walked away feeling confident and happy," said Turpin. When they returned back to Knoxville, Turpin visited the Social Security office to have her last name legally changed to that of her partner's. She then traveled to the Department of Motor Vehicles in West Knoxville to do the same on her driver's license. There were no questions asked and Turpin walked out of the office with her new license in hand. But before she drove away, an employee of the Department of Motor Vehicles approached her car and asked for the new license back. "How dare her employee run out to my car, in front of everybody and say, 'You've got to give me the license back, we don't recognize same sex marriage,' out loud," questioned Turpin. When Turpin refused to return her new license, highway patrolmen were called. Turpin eventually returned the new license and received another with her old last name.

Turpin said that if she had not mentioned that she had married a woman, the Tennessee DMV would have issued her license without question.

(Via - Queerty)