Florida Lesbian Couple Calls Driver's License Change Rejection 'Humiliating' (VIDEO)

A visit to the DMV is rarely a pleasant experience for anyone, but now, a Florida-based lesbian couple says they are humiliated by their driver's license application "nightmare."

Although newlyweds Rachel and Charlotte Lambert-Jolley say they were told they would be able to change their names in Florida with the appropriate documentation, authorities at a Pinellas County DMV ultimately rejected their request after an hour-long wait, Saint Petersburg 10 News is reporting.

"To have multiple people tell you, 'It's fine, it's fine,' [then] you go in there and think you are good, then boom! It's a slap in the face, pretty much," Rachel said. Added Charlotte: "People shouldn't be put in the position to feel how we felt," Charlotte said.

Though the Lambert-Jolleys came armed with the standard documents, including a marriage license from Connecticut and updated social security cards with their new, hyphenated names, DMV officials say additional materials, including a passport and a court order, are necessary for LGBT couples in Florida, where same-sex marriage is not recognized. "The out-of-state marriage certificate is a piece of paper that means nothing to the state of Florida," Ann Howard, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, told Patch. "The law is very clear. It doesn't recognize any document related to same-sex marriage, because it is not recognized under the Florida Constitution."

Rachel, who wed Charlotte in Connecticut and is now a reporter for Patch.com, also wrote candidly about her experience in a new op-ed. "As a gay married woman and resident of the area, I feel that there should not be such a gray area in dealing with a people's identities and their ability to conduct their life in a purposeful manner," she wrote. "The situation we were put in was distressing to the say the least –- and humiliating." (You can read her full story here.)

Watch the full report below:

Comments

[Lilli Ewing]

12:18 AM on 11/17/2011

I don't think it should have mattered whether they were married or not. Each one could go in individually and with legal name change documents be provided with new I.D's. There is no federal law mandating that people have to have a passport for any reason much less to obtain a drivers license. I would have just gone around the corner to next DMV office and got my license. Right hand rarely knows what the left had is doing afterall!

[torgman3]

03:28 PM on 11/11/2011

HEY! They're models! And one of them appeared in Playboy!

http://www.modelmayhem.com/114173
http://www.modelmayhem.com/1085359

[Ruth1966]

02:16 AM on 11/07/2011

Generally speaking,
Full Faith and Credit must
ordinarily be applied.

However, Courts have consistently held that:

"this is subject to the broad limitation that a state court may refuse
such recognition if compliance with the rule would result in an
infringement of the state's own public policy...
Thus full faith and credit need not be accorded
...judgments or statutes purporting to affect a marital relationship."

For the entire Yale Law Review article read:

"The Full Faith and Credit Clause and Conflicts of Social Policy"

The Yale Law Journal
Vol. 43, No. 4, Feb., 1934

or, if you do not have access to a law library
you can read the abstract (brief summary) I just posted above,
of the article at:

http://www.jstor.org/pss/791070

[SybillOnWheels]

01:32 AM on 11/07/2011

Wow, the level of antipathy exhibited by many of the posters here is absolutely sickening. "Rules are rules"? Well, yes they are, but that's not the problem in this case. The problem is that the state of Florida allows for *special*, much more accessible rules for straight couples, and second-class, vague, inaccessible rules for gay couples. What is wrong with straight people in this county? Completely self-absorbed, antipathetic people.

[Ruth1966]

03:10 AM on 11/07/2011

They also discriminate against single people. I have to provide the same passport documentation that this gay couple does in Florida simply because I am not married.

So, why do gay married people get more rights than we single people in states
like NY, Iowa, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, etc?

They don't care that they have rights as married people that I am denied.

Married couples get tax deductions that I do not get
is that equal protection under the law?

No,noy t in reality, but its been "held" by the courts to be...

So, what do I do with that??

I go forward with my life, and choose to focus on
all the good people who love and care for me, and the good things that have happened to me, my friends and family, and the people who I have chosen to help.

and I recall and give thanks for all the blessings of living in America...and I get very happy when I think on these things and my spirits are lifted
and i am in a better position to both receive and also become a blessing to others.

A grateful person is a happy person-whether married or single. An angry or resentful person is tearing down their own spirit.

what happens to us is not nearly as important as our *opinion* (or assessment) about what happens to us.

[forkuu]

11:57 AM on 11/07/2011

boy you missed the point ...

[drmindhealer]

11:29 PM on 11/06/2011

Having just gone through three trips to DMV in Florida I can tell you it requires a lot of paperwork - not only did I need my out-of-state license, but my social security card, proof of Florida residency (phone bill), as well as court documents for my name change. While my situation is not the same as the Lambert-Jolley's I can understand their need for documentation. My experience with the Florida DMV was quite good - I feel badly for Lambery-Jolley's troubles but since Florida does not recognize same sex marriages they have to go through the same stuff as the rest of us. The $400 to register my car was more painful!

[ellwood145]

06:07 PM on 11/06/2011

People are humiliated every day get over it, grow a pair and cover your rear end, when it comes to rules and regs usually the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Or just move out of tomato land and go to Con.

[slinkybro]

04:27 PM on 11/06/2011

Sounds right. A gay marriage license isn't a valid document (in Florida) and a social security card can't be used as identification. So they need another legal document that shows thier names were legally changed. A passport or other court document would do that. So if they want to get drivers licenses, they have to follow the rules. Why is this so hard for people to understand? If I change my name and go to the DMV, I need acceptable proof.

[SybillOnWheels]

01:35 AM on 11/07/2011

Except it's extremely difficult for a gay couple to do this, whereas it's incredibly easy for a straight couple to do this. The "rules are rules" mentality is not justifiable when the rules exempt a group of people from being able to follow the rules in the first place.

[Ruth1966]

03:46 AM on 11/07/2011

Its equally hard for straight single people to get their name changed. They must follow the exact same procedure as these two women.

And when we single people move to NY , Iowa, Connecticut, New Hampshire, or California, were gay marriage is recognized, we are treated worse than gay married couples, who get special tax deductions that singles don;t get, and they get their names changed automatically when they marry, while we have to file a petition for name change...is that fair? no it is not,imho..

But that's the law, so we must live with it.

And since I prefer a happy, joyful, productive life, I focus on gratitude for all the kind people and wonderful things that God has blessed me and my friends and family with
There is so much to be thankful for if you live in America-regardless of sexual orientation, age, gender, race, etc.

Think on these things; they are empowering and uplifting, and joyful.

Whereas, resentments, disappointments, and grievances, oppress our spirit,
lower our countenance, depress the soul, and lead to depression and anger eventually turned inward on ourselves.

Injustice has been with mankind since the creation...across all cultures.
It is a fact of human existence. Sometimes it can be remedied, but often not.
and at what price to peace and happiness.

[lafcew]

09:45 PM on 11/16/2011

Marriages performed in other states should be recognized in Florida. If the couple was a man and a woman, would they have been treated the same way?

[VagabondBull]

02:58 AM on 11/06/2011

Doesn't an updated social security card (federal) trump Florida (state). Just because Florida isn't progressive enough to allow or recognize same-sex marriages, these women were legally married and had federal documents updated reflecting that name change. Say I have my name changed in Massachusetts, does that mean that Florida doesn't have to honor it? This is just haters being haters.

[Ruth1966]

12:52 AM on 11/07/2011

Social security can use any id they see fit, but they cannot dictate to any state what it
must accept.

[SybillOnWheels]

01:39 AM on 11/07/2011

So what you're saying is that it's okay for individual states to treat gay couples differently from straight couples? The state of Florida intentionally makes the laws much more difficult and almost impossible to gay couples to follow than it does for straight couples. Not that you care, because it doesn't affect you...praise Jesus! Yay Jesus!

[StevenKeirstead]

11:04 PM on 11/05/2011

People should be able to change their names and states have to recognize other state's legal proceedings. That's in the US Constitution, and Florida has to comply with the nations highest law.

[touchyrogue]

10:24 PM on 11/16/2011

Actually its in the constitution that states do not have to recognize other states legal proceedings. States get to have their own individual laws, they're even allowed to have laws that conflict with existing federal laws under the constitution.

[StevenKeirstead]

08:12 AM on 11/23/2011

US Constitution, Article IV: "Full faith and credit ought to be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings, of every other state; and the legislature shall, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings, shall be proved, and the effect which judgments, obtained in one state, shall have in another."

Amendment 14, Section 1: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. "

Taken together, these parts of the Constitution should compel states to recognize all marriages legally performed in other states, including same sex couples like these ladies in Florida, or my husband's and my marriage (such as when we go from Massachusetts to Maine).

[intellectualTradition]

09:11 PM on 11/05/2011

the dark haired one looks like a lot of fun. ill take one to go

[Robbynigma]

12:13 PM on 11/07/2011

Oh wow, I could not believe I had to scroll down this far for someone to state the obvious.

[baydolphins]

02:37 PM on 11/05/2011

straight people have a tough enough time getting a regular driver's license in this state...it's easier to get a passport...they should have just said they were illegals and they would have breezed right through

[jdnich29]

01:55 PM on 11/05/2011

so then the rest of the country should not recognized florida marriages thats fair

[baydolphins]

02:38 PM on 11/05/2011

good point

[Scott Laux]

10:54 AM on 11/05/2011

Oh please. They were "embarrassed" so now they are on national TV. Everybody is a victim.

[chelledc]

12:08 PM on 11/05/2011

It would be embarassing to be say strip searched in front of a room full of people but best believe I would be all over tv embrassing the people who did it to me.

[Atwill]

09:11 PM on 11/05/2011

when your civil rights are denied yes, you are a victim.

[ellwood145]

05:53 PM on 11/06/2011

Getting a drivers license is a civil right?

[Atwill]

08:19 PM on 11/04/2011

The same bigots and homophobes who are freaking out over this and over DOMA and the fact that it will die, are the same one who, a year ago said "DADT will never be lifted. you need to stay in the closet. No one will accept it in the military. If it is lifted, there will be war." Well i am waiting. Where is the fire and brimestone?

[StormCarRain]

02:19 PM on 11/05/2011

Anyone who disagrees with YOUR opinion is a bigot and a homophone? Why are you so Hetero-phobic?

[cenourinha]

02:55 PM on 11/05/2011

he didn't say anyone who disagrees with him is a bigot and a homophobe (a homophone is a word pronounced the same as another but having a different meaning). He said there were bigots and homophobes freaking out over DOMA and DADT. There's no denying that there are bigots and homophobes who are freaking out over DOMA just like they did over DADT.

more critical thinking and comprehension skills would behoove you.

[Atwill]

07:15 PM on 11/05/2011

No, you can disagree, but if you are against gay rights my kid's rights, then yes, you are a homophobe, because there is no rational reason for gays NOT to have rights. You are reacting out of hate and ignorance and fear.

[Knowledgeseeker]

04:41 PM on 11/04/2011

two very beautiful ladies