New Tennessee law defining "sex" going into effect

LGBTQ+ advocates in Tennessee are racing to help transgender residents change the gender markers on their state IDs before a new law goes into effect Saturday.

Driving the news: SB1440 defines "sex" in the state code as the gender assigned at birth. The law will block transgender residents from changing the gender marker on state IDs.

• Transgender Tennesseans have traditionally been able to change the gender marker on their driver's license with a court order or medical records showing a transition.

What's happening: Advocacy groups responded with an initiative to help transgender residents with gender and name changes on their IDs.

• Phil Cobucci, the executive director of Inclusion Tennessee, tells Axios the initiative has received applications from more than 500 people seeking a name change, gender marker change or both.
• About 300 of those were people seeking a gender marker change before July 1. Name changes are not affected by the new law and will continue.

Zoom in: Bass, Berry & Sims is helping with the legal process as part of its pro bono program, which supports projects "that promote access to justice with a focus on strengthening families, empowering communities, and protecting civil rights," according to David Esquivel, the firm's pro bono member.

The big picture: The law is one of several pursued this year in Tennessee that targeted the LGBTQ+ community.

• "This law is yet another attack on trans lives," Cobucci says.
• "Unfortunately with these continued attempts of erasure, it is literally saying, 'We don't care about your existence.'"

This legislation in particular could jeopardize millions in federal funding because the bill's definition contradicts federal rules, The Associated Press notes.

State of play: Republicans have pushed back against criticism, saying the measure was necessary to promote "consistency" in state law.

• Earlier this month, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti praised the law and described it as a response to a "​​corruption of language so that words that meant something ... are being reinterpreted to mean something different," per the Tennessean.

What we're watching: Advocacy groups have successfully challenged other LGBTQ+-related laws this year, including the gender-affirming care ban and a law restricting drag. It remains to be seen if challenges to this law will emerge.

• "SB1440 is like a minefield. No one knows precisely when or where blowups might occur, though there is much speculation," Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality Project tells Axios.
• "The wording of the law is brief, so we believe specific changes based on it would go through the regulatory process and appear gradually over the coming months."