Florida has discontinued the practice of allowing individuals to change their sex on replacement driver’s licenses without meeting specific criteria.
The decision was made as the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) concluded that altering gender markers on licenses based on internal gender identification violates the law.
This change was met with criticism from Florida Democrat state lawmaker Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, who argued that it is an attack on transgender individuals.
This letter from Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles was shared w/me last night — I have contacted the department to confirm its authenticity but based on what I am hearing, computer systems locally are no longer allowing gender to be updated. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Uly8fIA9tq
— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) January 30, 2024
“This letter from Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles was shared w/me last night — I have contacted the department to confirm its authenticity but based on what I am hearing, computer systems locally are no longer allowing gender to be updated,” Rep. Anna V. Eskamani wrote on X.
“This is another gross example of how every state agency has been weaponizes to attack trans people. Instead of addressing the property insurance crisis, this is what our state is doing. Shameful.”
“As part of this review, the Department is reviewing practices, policies, and directives to ensure that all guidance provided by the Department is consistent with Florida law,” the letter reads.
The FLHSMV emphasized that the decision pertains solely to replacement license requests and is aimed at ensuring the security and reliability of government-issued credentials.
“The Department is charged with important statutory duties, to include issuance of Florida driver’s licenses and identification cards, and to issue replacement credentials under specific circumstances,” the department stated, noting that “expanding the Department’s authority to issue replacement licenses dependent on one’s internal sense of gender or sex identification is violative of the law and does not serve to enhance the security and reliability of Florida issued licenses and identification cards.”
“The security, reliability, and accuracy of government issued credentials is paramount,” the department added.
