HRC Blog

Last year when Cynthia and Melissa got married in Washington, DC, Cynthia took Melissa’s last name.  She went through all the steps to have her name legally changed on her Social Security card, her District of Columbia marriage certificate and her Virginia driver's license.

Yet when the couple moved to West Virginia and Cynthia applied for a driver’s license there, she was shocked when she was told the state wouldn’t allow her to put her married name on her WV identification.  The DMV refused to issue her a driver's license with her new last name name because she's married to a woman, and the state of West Virginia forbids state agencies from recognizing any documents related to a same-sex marriage.

Such a shame.