As the May 7 deadline approaches for obtaining REAL IDs to fly domestically, many married women in the U.S. are encountering significant obstacles. The primary issue arises from the requirement to prove name changes due to marriage, which often necessitates presenting an original marriage certificate. One notable case is that of 67-year-old Dorothy Ballone, who has struggled for months to acquire her original marriage certificate from 1958 to verify her name change, highlighting the broader logistical challenges faced by many women in similar situations.
I found online all the documents that I would need, my Social Security [card], my birth certificate. A couple of things stating where you live, like your utility bill and your bank statement, stuff like that - and your marriage license.
I put all my documents on the counter, and [a clerk] pulled out the marriage license and said, 'I can't accept this.' And I said, 'Why not?' She said, 'It's a copy.' And I said, 'That's all I have.'
Ballone said she was told to go to her church to obtain the original. Ballone reached out to the church in East Rochester where she was married, and was told it does not have marriage licenses dating back that far.
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