Transgender activists in Florida hosted dramatic die-in protests at multiple Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices across the state. The protests were in response to a new rule criminalizing the change of gender on driver’s licenses, according to Fox News Digital. Demonstrators, using Pride flags and safety vests, symbolically laid down as if dead at numerous DMV sites, accompanied by placards proclaiming “hate kills.”
Florida’s recent rule change disallows transgender individuals from adjusting their gender on driver’s licenses to align with their gender identity. Robert Kynoch, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Deputy Executive Director, stated in a memo that misrepresenting one’s biological gender on a driver’s license constitutes fraud and could result in criminal and civil penalties.
Before this rule change, Florida residents could change their gender marker on driver’s licenses by presenting a letter from a physician confirming gender transition or a court order for a name change. The new restriction has sparked backlash from activists and advocacy groups, viewing it as an act of “trans erasure”.