The memo, issued by Robert Kynoch, deputy executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, indicates that establishing gender on a driver's license is solely based on supporting documents provided during the application process.

The memo emphasizes that these documents must be sufficient to establish the applicant's identity under Florida law. It further states that misrepresenting one's gender, understood as sex, on a driver's license constitutes fraud and carries potential criminal and civil penalties, including license cancellation, suspension, or revocation.

This directive comes amidst a concerning trend in Florida, spearheaded by Governor Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers, which has seen the targeting of transgender rights in the state. Previous actions include banning gender-affirming care for minors, restricting discussion of personal pronouns in schools, and mandating specific bathroom usage. Unfortunately, similar laws targeting LGBTQ+ individuals are proliferating in Republican-led states across the country.

In addition to the revocation threat, Kynoch's memo also reveals that the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has rescinded previous requirements allowing licensees to alter the gender marker on their licenses. Going forward, replacement licenses will only be issued under specific circumstances such as loss, theft, or name, address, or restriction changes.

Kynoch further argues in the memo that the term "gender" does not refer to a person's internal sense of gender role or identity but is historically synonymous with "sex," determined by biological and genetic characteristics. He contends that allowing individuals to alter their license based on their internal sense of gender role or identity could undermine the purpose of an identification document and hinder the state's ability to enforce its laws.

The memo shared by civil rights attorney Alejandra Caraballo on social media raises significant concerns. It suggests that any transgender person who has already changed their gender marker on their license could potentially face license suspension, while those attempting to change it after the memo's issuance could be criminally prosecuted for fraud. This interpretation may also extend to tourists visiting the state.

Caraballo warns that this change in policy forces transgender people in Florida into a dangerous situation, effectively outing them and exposing them to discrimination and violence. She likens it to a "show me your papers" policy, highlighting the erasure and criminalization of the entire transgender community. Caraballo argues that this dangerous shift endangers transgender people's lives and perpetuates discrimination.

The memo follows the approval of a bill by the Florida House Select Committee on Health Innovation, which mandates displaying the sex assigned at birth, rather than gender identity, on driver's licenses. The repercussions of these actions could be far-reaching, as statistics from a recent report by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law indicate that approximately 94,900 adults and 16,200 individuals aged between 13 and 17 identify as transgender in Florida.

The situation is rapidly evolving, with concerns mounting for the safety and rights of transgender individuals in Florida. As advocacy efforts intensify, it remains to be seen how this new policy will impact the state's transgender community and whether legal challenges will be mounted against these discriminatory measures.

Update 1/30/24, 10:45 a.m. ET: Civil rights attorney Alejandra Caraballo has expressed her concerns over the policy change, emphasizing the potential harm it could inflict on transgender people in Florida.