In one of the most extreme acts of the last decade targeting transgender individuals, a new bill introduced on Thursday afternoon in Florida seeks to end all legal recognition of transgender people and mandates mass biological sex affidavits for both transgender and cisgender Floridians. These affidavits would be necessary at the DMV for license renewals, enabling the state to gather records of the biological sex of all individuals in Florida who apply for driver’s licenses. The affidavits could allow the state to compile lists of transgender people with Florida driver’s licenses. They could then be used to enforce other anti-trans laws in the state. Additionally, the bill would impact every law in Florida that references sex, effectively removing all legal recognition of transgender people in the state.
The bill resembles measures in other countries that have ended all legal recognition of transgender individuals, such as Russia in 2020 and Hungary in 2023. Florida has also banned gender-affirming care for many transgender adults, forcing a significant number to leave the state. Similarly, another proposed bill would essentially abolish LGBTQ nonprofits in Florida by preventing these organizations from requiring employees to receive training on LGBTQ issues. It would, for instance, be impossible to run an LGBTQ organization without requiring training around LGBTQ issues. If enacted, this legislation would place Florida among the most oppressive regimes against transgender individuals worldwide.
The bill starts by defining “sex” in a way that excludes transgender people and incorporating this definition........