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Credit: DisneyThe Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles issued a memo last Friday banning transgender and non-binary people from changing their birth sex on driver’s licenses. Critics have called the rule an “attack” on the transgender community, and the effects are likely to funnel down to Walt Disney World Resort employees. As the largest employer in the state, the Central Florida Disney park is home to many trans cast members who feel safe working for an LGBTQIA+ inclusive company.
Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani posted a photo of the memo on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Tuesday:
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.
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.
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. 2/2
— Rep. Anna V. Eskamani 🔨 (@AnnaForFlorida) January 30, 2024
Eskamani told The South Florida Sun Sentinel that she is “incredibly frustrated by another weaponization of state agencies by Gov. DeSantis. It just seems the state has no filter in how far they’ll go in attacking trans people.”
DeSantis previously signed legislation to restrict gender-affirming care for minors, drag shows, pronoun use in public schools, and bathroom use. In 2022, Florida passed the Parental Rights in Education Act, popularly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. It severely restricted discussion of gender and sexuality in public schools, leading to mass protests.
Former Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek condemned “Don’t Say Gay” after a mass outcry from LGBTQIA+ fans and employees. This snowballed into the ongoing legal battle between Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over Walt Disney World Resort’s Reedy Creek Improvement District. The Republican governor took control of the special municipal area in 2023, hand-selecting new board members.
Still, The Walt Disney Company remains one of the most inclusive employers in Florida. Disney provided health benefits to same-sex couples before gay marriage was legal in the 1990s, and Disney’s current insurance options cover gender-affirming care. The safety of transgender Disney cast members is at risk under the new driver’s license policy.
Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, told The South Florida Sun Sentinel that DeSantis’s administration is obsessed “with scapegoating transgender Floridians.”
“This cruel policy threatens transgender Floridians with civil and criminal penalties and blocks them from obtaining the critical government-issued identification necessary to continue their daily lives,” she said.
County tax collectors must use “supporting documents” to establish a person’s gender identity. Under the new policy, misrepresenting birth sex on a driver’s license is considered fraud and punishable by law. It’s unclear what, if anything, will happen to Floridians who have already updated their gender markers.
For Floridians who’ve transitioned, an inaccurate gender marker is dangerous. Every time a transgender or non-binary person pulls out their identification at a bar, grocery store, or bank, they’re at risk of being outed. People well into their transitions could even be accused of using fake IDs if their gender presentation doesn’t match their gender marker.
Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t issued a statement on the updated policy from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Should adults be allowed to change the gender depicted on their driver’s licenses or state IDs? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments.