Boy sues DMV after he's required to take off make-up

A South Carolina young man has sued to the DMV office after he arrived to get his license in make-up was told he would have to remove it before he could get his photo taken.

Chase Culpepper, 16, was born a male but is gender nonconforming. He regularly wears makeup and clothing typically worn by women, according to the lawsuit.

After passing driver's license tests in June, Culpepper was told he had to remove his makeup before his photograph could be taken.

The New York-based Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund called on the DMV to allow Chase to retake the picture in June, but the agency has not responded to requests to resolve the issue, according to the lawsuit.

The teen wears cosmetics and dresses in androgynous and female clothing.

DMV officials have said the employees did nothing wrong, and were merely enforcing department policy forbidding the wearing of disguises.

"They told me that I could not wear disguises and I need to look more like a boy," Culpepper said.

The state requires that anything that alters someone's appearance cannot be worn for driver's license photos. Culpepper said that doesn't apply to him because he wears makeup and women's clothes daily and that is his true appearance.

"I was horrified and saddened by what happened to him," said his mother, Teresa Culpepper.