CNS News–In a controversial move by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, transgender individuals are no longer permitted to update the gender marker on their driver’s licenses. This policy, articulated in a letter by Deputy Executive Director Dave Kerner on January 26, asserts that “gender” will henceforth be defined strictly as “biological sex.”
The letter warns that any deviation or “misrepresentation” of one’s biological sex on a driver’s license could lead to accusations of fraud, carrying potential civil and criminal consequences, including the revocation of the license. The department’s stance is that gender identity, being subject to personal interpretation and not verifiably immutable, undermines the state’s ability to enforce its laws.
This includes regulations that restrict transgender individuals from using bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity and target the provision of adult medical care. The policy positions Florida as potentially the first state to enforce such restrictions under threat of criminal penalties.
Florida: “Misrepresenting” Gender On Drivers Licenses Is Fraud, Changes Now Banned.
I wonder if this also applies to trans people who have changed their gender marker on their birth certificate?
https://t.co/mE0tqu98Fp— Liz Szabo (@LizSzabo) January 30, 2024
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This policy appears as part of a broader trend of executive actions across various states, including Florida’s ban on transgender care by the Board of Medicine and similar restrictive measures in education and health care in other states. The ramifications of this new rule are profound, potentially rendering all driver’s licenses of transgender individuals that do not reflect their biological sex as fraudulent.
This could lead to legal complications during routine interactions such as traffic stops. The context for this policy includes ongoing legislative efforts, with House Bills 1233 and 1639 seeking to legislatively enforce similar restrictions on driver’s license gender markers.
The immediate effect of the policy is not only legal but also deeply personal, impacting the daily lives of transgender individuals in Florida, many of whom, according to Representative Eskamani, are already considering or have taken steps to leave the state due to the increasingly hostile environment.