City Council supports consideration of municipal ID cards

Austin City Council unanimously agreed to explore possible options for providing municipally issued identification cards.

Similar cards are currently used in Washington, D.C. and help provide services for undocumented immigrants, disabled people, survivors of domestic abuse, homeless people and members of the transgender community.

"We, as an organization, believe that the recognition of our identities and the recognition of each of our contributions and worth as Austinites will make us a stronger and more vibrant city," said Gregorio Casar with Recognize Austin. "We'll be one step closer to being a the world class city that we want to be. We can be closer to being an inclusive city, an integrated city, a respectful city and a proud city full to the brim with public life and culture."

Austin Police Department has been working hard to build trust among immigrant community members who are currently afraid to ask for help from law enforcement because they have no valid form of ID, APD Assistant Chief Raul Munguia said.

Antolin Aguirre thanked City Council for moving forward with the possibility of creating such a form of ID so members of the Hispanic community, like himself, could feel they are recognized by the state for the hard work they provide.

The municipal ID card would also provide a preferred method of ID for those in the transgender community that cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars to go to court and get their driver's license legally changed to reflect the preferred name and gender, Kathryn Gonzales said.

"My story is personal. I identify as transgendered and thankfully I went to The University of Texas that listed my preferred name. I can't convey to you how often that I presented that as my photo identification so I didn't have to present my driver's license listing my legal name and my legal gender," Gonzales said.