Georgia Judge Refuses To Let Trans Man Change His Name

The judge called the name change "dangerous" and offensive to community members' "sensibilities."
From: NewNowNext

After going through all the necessary steps to have his name legally changed, one Georgia trans man is being denied his chosen name because it sounds too “male.”

24-year-old Rowan Feldhaus first petitioned for a name change in July 2015 with the Superior Court of Columbia County, GA. The petition included an affidavit from his therapist that said that allowing him to change his name was an important step in his journey toward fully claiming his identity.

After moving through several channels throughout the remainder of 2015, the petition was finally heard in court this past February. While Judge J. David Roper allowed Feldhaus to take on the new name of Rowan, a name he believed to be appropriately gender-neutral, the judge denied Feldhaus’ choice of middle name, Elijah.

“I am not going to change your name to Rowan Elijah,” the judge said. “You’ve got to come up with something else…maybe Shawn or some other name that is commonly given male or female.”

In his statement, Roper made it clear that he was not comfortable with changing “male names to obvious female names,” further stating that he considered it “dangerous” for someone to not know one’s gender by name and that Feldhaus having the name of “Rowan Elijah” would offend the “sensibilities” of members in the community.

To support this claim, Judge Roper cited the everyday difficulties Rowan would inevitably face if he were to take on the name Elijah: “[Think of] the 17 year-old kid who’s ringing you up at the grocery store and when you want to cash a check, or whatever it is, and you produce credit card or ID that is obviously inconsistent with your appearance and he or she doesn’t know what to do.”

He concluded by saying that it was within his right’s as a judge to deny the name-change, a “right” that is now being challenged by Lambda Legal on behalf of Feldhaus.

In a statement released by Lambda Legal, Feldhaus says he felt “insulted” and “objectified” when he was told that he would “not be able to have the name that [his] family, friends and co-workers all call [him].”

He goes on to say that it can be a “scary situation” when he shows up for “work or the first day of class” and his legal name doesn’t match his “public presentation” or his “gender identity.” The statement concludes: “I just want to change my name so that it reflects who I am.”

Lambda Legal is currently appealing the court’s denial. Read the brief in full, here.