WLRN and PolitiFact have teamed up to fact-check Florida officials. The Pulitzer Prize-winning group aims to provide the truth, free from bias or agenda.
No one enjoys visiting the DMV, but why did LGBTQ+ activists in Florida stage a “die-in” on February 9 at the typically unremarkable operational buildings?
Answer: Transgender Floridians and their activists claim that a letter from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles threatens to further marginalize and harass them.
Alejandra Caraballo, a Harvard Law professor and supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, wrote on X, “Florida has taken punitive operational activity and banned sex marker modifications on driver’s licenses.” Any trans people whose identity has been altered may face suspension. People attempting to alter it after that risked criminal charges for “fraud.”
Floridians are not allowed to replace their driver’s licenses in order to change what is written on the passport next to the word “sex,” according to a letter from Robert Kynoch, deputy executive director of the agency. The action comes before two state government bills that, if passed, would compel a similar course of action.
The agency’s action forbids transgender individuals from altering the “M” or “F” on a current license. However, it’s unclear how this modification may impact new license applications or license holders whose gender identities have already been taken into account when applying for licenses.
The letter also stated that the term “gender” refers to “immutable biological and genetic qualities” when it is used in the Florida driver’s license act. It claimed that misrepresenting one’s sex while submitting a certificate application could lead to civil or criminal penalties.
Legal experts questioned whether the office has the legal right to impose this legal understanding because “Gender” is not defined in the section of the law that governs driver’s licenses and ID cards.
Attorneys are keeping an eye on and weighing their options as legislators appear ready to try to define a similar rule, according to transgender legal advocates who told PolitiFact that they believe the plan change merits legal challenge.
What we discovered is as follows.
Memo forbids replacing certificates in order to change one’s identity
Prior to the department’s policy change, individuals who provided a letter confirming they were receiving gender transition treatment were permitted to change the “sex” field on their license or ID—either “M” or “F”—to reflect their gender identity, whether it be male or female.
Although the terms “sex” and “gender” are frequently used interchangeably, they are defined differently by skilled professionals and the majority of major medical institutions.
Male, female, or intersex are natural categories that are based on physical characteristics like genes, hormones, and genitalia. This means that they were born with sexual or physical anatomy that does not neatly fit into any group.
According to experts, gender identity refers to a person’s internal perception of themselves as men, women, something in between, or none. Some people’s sex and gender are the same, but trans people have an incompatibility between the two.
According to Kynoch’s memo, Florida Statute 322.17, which specifies the circumstances under which the department may issue a replacement license, states that the older policy that permitted people to obtain new licenses to indicate gender changes is “not supported by legal authority.”
According to that law, a successor may be given if an ID is misplaced, stolen, or someone’s name, address, and driving restrictions change. Hence, the letter argued that replacing the permit for a change in gender identification is illegal.
It is questionable whether persons who had already changed their gender on their license could renew their current certificates as is because different areas of the laws in Florida deal with permit “renewals” and “replacements.” The department did not respond to PolitiFact’s inquiries regarding renewals.
Note asserts the term ‘gender’ and issues a warning about fraud sanctions
The last two sections of the memo attracted the attention of LGBTQ+ advocates. The text read:
Furthermore, the term “gender” in s. 322.08, F. S., has historically and widely been understood as a synonym for “sex,” which is determined by innate and immutable biological and genetic characteristics, rather than referring to a person’s internal sense of his or her gender role or identification.
What Kynoch used to define “gender” is questionable.
According to the section of the law his letter cited, a person’s total name, evidence of Social Security number, mailing address, and other information must be included along with the word “gender” when submitting an application for issuance. There is no definition of the term.
Our inquiries about the definition’s source were never addressed by Molly Best, a department spokesperson.
The “M” / “F” field is marked with the term “sex” on Florida’s physical license. However, the term “gender” is used in the law on licenses to define the requirements on a passport application.
Berta Esperanza Hernández-Truyol, a law professor at the University of Florida, challenged the view. While agencies do issue regulations, she said, it is very possibly outside of their purview to reinterpret statutory law on their own. “Especially with the attempted redefinition of ‘gender,’ which has a different meaning from ‘sex’ in terms of art.”
The memo was criticized as “creating a definition that doesn’t exist” in the statute by attorney Simone Chriss, who also served as the Southern Legal Counsel’s director of the Transgender Rights Initiative. In addition to Florida’s limitations on gender-affirming care and rules regarding the use of pronouns in schools that don’t correspond to natural sex, Chriss’ law firm is suing Florida for other anti-EQL+ laws.
As the state legislature takes H.B. into consideration, the law is changed. H.B. and 1639 Bills that would define that a person’s registration reflects their “sex” number 1233.
The definition of “sex” in the bills is “the categorization of a human person as either male or female based on how their bodies are organized for their particular reproductive role.”
In addition, the letter stated that “misrepresenting one’s identity, understood as intercourse, on a vehicle registration constitutes fraud” and that doing so “subjects an individual to criminal and civil penalties, including cancellation, suspension, or revocation of that license.”
It is unclear how far criminal charges might be brought against or prosecuted. How would it affect transgender people, for instance, if their licenses were now altered to reflect their identity? Would there be repercussions for those who use main documents that have already undergone legal changes to reflect their gender identity when applying for new certificates?
Concerning this section of the letter, the company remained silent. According to legal professionals cited by PolitiFact, people whose licenses were changed prior to the letter should not be subject to fraud charges.
What does the change in Florida mean for aspirants for new licenses? It is unclear
According to Best, the policy didn’t alter the procedure for “establishing gender” on a new Florida license or ID. Residents may bring at least one major identifying document when applying for a new Florida registration, such as their card, birth certificate, or certificate of membership. According to the specialized advisory distributed with the letter, sex “must be taken from a major identification document.”
However, people have the option to change the gender that appears on U.S. passports and, in some states, on birth certificates, raising the question of how this complies with the document’s claim that “misrepresenting one’s sex constitutes fraud.”
In response to PolitiFact’s inquiries, Best remarked that “obtaining a license… requires sufficient proof of identity, including your natural sex,” and “in Florida, you do not find to execute identity politics with your driver’s license.”
Best referred us to a division site that details the paperwork required to obtain driver’s licenses. The law requires “satisfactory” identification documentation, which includes the name and “gender.” Nonetheless, we were unable to find any proof that obtaining a new ID or certificate in Florida requires identification of one’s natural gender.
The relevance for people who are transgender
The Florida Highway Safety Department’s shift, according to LGBTQ+ activists, may jeopardize the protection of transgender people and expose them to prejudice or discrimination.
According to Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, senior director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, “If you don’t upgrade the gender symbol on your ID, you are essentially identified as trans at every change.” This may occur when you interact with potential tenants, employers, clerks, bartenders, restaurant servers, and other people.
You run the risk of being discriminated against by outsiders on a regular basis, according to Heng-Lehtinen.
Advocates claimed that if a person presents an ID that doesn’t match how they appear or refer to themselves, they risk being asked intrusive personal questions during job interviews or stopped by the police to determine whether their ID is fraudulent.
Most states have a system for changing the “M” or “F” on licenses, but states like Iowa are considering laws to limit that, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an independent think tank that monitors LGBTQ+ policies. Other states are thinking about passing legislation that would fully identify “intercourse” and “gender” or prohibit people from changing their birth certificates to reveal their gender.
