Austin DSA’s Trans and Intersex Rights and Bodily Autonomy Campaign invites you to join our Enhanced Library Card Drive!

House Bill 229, which took effect on September 1st, 2025, has codified reproductive system-based definitions of immutable, biological sex into state law. Worse still, Senate Bill 8—a bathroom ban both evil and ridiculous—will take effect December 4th, 2025. Together, these two laws prevent transgender Texans from seeking gender marker changes on their IDs and put them at risk of harassment just for peeing in public restrooms.

But you don't have to sit by and watch these laws wreak havoc on our community. Join us in getting gender marker-free photo IDs to say "f*ck you" to Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, and all of the state legislators who refuse to recognize transgender Texans’ right to self-determination. The Austin Public Library offers a form of secondary identification for Austin residents called an Enhanced Library Card, which is a form of ID accepted by many of the city's government agencies and community organizations, including the Austin Police Department and Austin Municipal Courts. It also doesn't have a gender marker, meaning ELCs can be used to identify yourself to these agencies without outing yourself or disclosing your gender identity.

That’s not all! We’re getting ELCs in solidarity, too. Enhanced Library Cards are also recommended for people in other marginalized communities, like those who are unhoused and undocumented immigrants. Even if you aren’t transgender, it’s a good idea to get an ELC. The more people who have and use ELCs as a form of identification, the more their use is normalized, so someone providing an ELC to a police officer won’t be immediately singled out. Protect yourself and other vulnerable members of our Austin community at the same time!

Sign the pledge to get an Enhanced Library Card with us and use it as a primary form of identification whenever possible. Stick it to the man, and join us for a gay old bash to celebrate our ELC drive when we hit 500 pledges!

Information about how to obtain an Enhanced Library Card can be found here: https://library.austintexas.gov/enhanced

Enhanced Library Cards are available at nine Austin Public Library locations, which include:

• Central Library, 710 W. César Chávez St.

• Cepeda Branch, 651 N. Pleasant Valley Rd.

• Little Walnut Creek Branch, 835 W. Rundberg Ln

• Menchaca Road Branch, 5500 Menchaca Rd.

• Milwood Branch, 12500 Amherst Dr.

• Ruiz Branch, 1600 Grove Blvd.

• St. John Branch, 7500 Blessing Ave.

• Southeast Branch, 5803 Nuckols Crossing Rd.

• Terrazas Branch, 1105 E. César Chávez St.