Florida invalidated the driver’s license of a nonbinary transgender TikTok user who claimed that they changed the gender marker on the document even though the state has laws forbidding it.
James Rose, who goes by @jamesissmiling on TikTok and uses she/they pronouns, posted a now-deleted video on the platform in which she claimed that she obtained a driving license that listed her gender as female even though she’s assigned male at birth.
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“My God, [Florida Gov.] Ron DeSantis would be screaming right now if he knew this,” Rose said in the video, according to Newsweek. “You’re not even supposed to be able to do this in this state. Here’s the loophole: listen up if you’re replacing your driver’s license, not renewing it… because you [sarcastic finger quotes] ‘lost it,’ they have to take all of your information from what they consider a primary document. A passport is considered a primary document and you can self-identify on your passport.”
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Rose also advised viewers to change the gender on her driver’s licenses before President-elect Donald Trump becomes president. Trump has promised to roll back trans civil rights nationwide.
The anti-LGBTQ+ social media account Libs of TikTok X account, which is run by Chaya Raichik, reposted Rose’s video alongside a January 6 letter addressed to Rose from the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FHSMV).
SCOOP: A trans activist boasted about a loophole which allowed him to change his gender marker on his Florida license.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 7, 2025
The FLHSMV responded by sending him a letter thanking him for bringing attention to this error and promise action to address it.
Florida doesn’t allow an… pic.twitter.com/RHVdJ5p0N0
The FHSMV said the gender on the license had been “improperly changed from male to female” and, citing state law, wrote, “The term ‘sex’ in section 322.17, Florida Statutes, does not refer to a person’s internal sense of his or her gender role or identity but is determined by innate and immutable biological and genetic characteristics.”
The FLHSMV said it included “a valid replacement license with the proper sex identifier of male” with the letter and added that it was investigating whether Rose “knowingly made a false statement about whether you truly lost your original license” which could result in the “cancellation, suspension or revocation” of their license.
The letter also thanked Rose for bringing the issue to their attention and noted that they could face legal charges for allegedly making false statements regarding their gender. However, it’s unclear how courts might rule on the issue, especially if it rose to the federal or appellate level.
DeSantis’ press secretary Jeremy Redfern shared the Libs of TikTok’s post on X and repeatedly misgendered Rose, writing, “FLHSMV cancelled his license and sent him a corrected one that says ‘male.’ That’s some dedicated service. He should thank them.”
Florida has threatened to jail any transgender person who tries to change the gender listed on their state-issued driver’s licenses. Such individuals would be charged with trying to make a false ID and face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
In a January 26, 2024 letter, FHSMV deputy executive director Robert Kynoch told state county tax collector’s offices that the FHSMV would rescind its previous policy that allowed individuals to correct their licenses’ gender markers after transitioning. The previous policy didn’t require individuals to show any proof of having undergone gender-affirming surgeries.
Nadine Smith, executive director of the statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Equality Florida, said the law threatens the estimated 94,900 trans-identifying adults currently living in Florida.
“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 wrote in a statement. “[Trans Floridians] carefully followed the rules to ensure their identification accurately reflects who they are, and they trusted this process. Now, an abrupt policy reversal has thrown their lives into chaos. The cruelty of this kind of government overreach and intrusion should alarm every Floridian.”
Incorrect driver’s licenses also leave trans people subject to misunderstandings, harassment, denied social services, discrimination and violence by effectively outing them as trans.
In July 2024, Florida began denying trans people updated birth certificates in defiance of its own laws. Democrats have urged the Biden administration to block the “hateful” ID policy, saying it will sow “tension” and “confusion” in the state.
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