Curiously enough, the Georgia DMV, with no apparent logical rationale, simply decided not to offer that option to McCollum when she approached the very same office in September to have her last name changed on her driver’s license.
According to a report carried by a local CBS news affiliate, the pair have started a website and an online petition.
A spokesperson for the Georgia DMV insists that the initial change was an error, and that the second clerk followed the appropriate guidelines because same-sex marriages are not recognized in the state of Georgia.
McCollum writes on the website:
“[We] talked about going to the DMV together to change our names once we got married but … I couldn’t go. I knew there was a chance the DMV would give her a hard time … but, to our surprise, a branch manager approved her request to change her name.
“When it was [returned], the woman behind the counter took one look at my marriage certificate and said she would not change my name. I told her my wife had her name change approved just weeks earlier at the same DMV! She wouldn’t hear it and I left the DMV embarrassed and upset that I couldn’t share my wife’s last name.”
Currently the couple have raised over 4,000 signatures to protest, and hopefully, overturn the Ga, DMV’s obtuse policies. To sign the petition, go here.