1 year ago
49
Originally published by The 19th
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will no longer update a transgender person’s driver’s license with their correct gender identity, according to an internal agency memo sent last week — a move that was not prompted by any new law.
The new policy “pertains solely to replacement license requests,” the agency’s director of communications said in an emailed statement. This would affect transgender adults across the state, since people typically update their documentation after, or while, undergoing medical treatments or socially transitioning.
The rule may expose trans people to criminal or civil penalties if they try to update their documentation. It is unclear whether or how it would affect newly issued licenses, as well as current accurate identification held by transgender Floridians.
Without accurate identification, transgender and nonbinary people face greater risks for violence, discrimination and harassment in everyday interactions, like while showing an ID at the club or grocery store, or while traveling. This is especially true if someone’s perceived gender expression does not match the gender marker on their driver’s license; this can out many trans people against their will.
