Maryland drivers with ‘hidden disabilities’ could get butterflies on their licenses

A sample of a Maryland driver s license with a butterfly that represents the hidden disability logo Courtesy of Linda Carpenter-Grantham A sample of a Maryland driver s license with a butterfly that represents the hidden disability logo Courtesy of Linda Carpenter-Grantham The moment that -year-old Eric Carpenter-Grantham of Silver Spring had prayed for eventually came to Annapolis this year when both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly passed the bill that he and his mother had championed Eric s ID Law will allow Maryland residents with non-apparent disabilities to opt in to a plan that will place a butterfly emblem on their state ID or driver s license That symbol isn t just a decorative flourish It will indicate to anyone looking at it that the holder of that license or ID has a disability that isn t instantly obvious That could include deafness autism developmental disabilities or a mental strength issue Eric Carpenter-Grantham and his mother Linda at the Beacon Awards ceremony Courtesy Linda Carpenter-Grantham Linda Carpenter-Grantham Eric s mother explained the idea for the butterfly license came after the two had a hard conversation after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in Eric has autism and his mom explained to WTOP that as the mother of a young Black man with a disability Floyd s death left her worried After their conversation she explained that Eric a teenager at the time was in tears he was crying and he declared Mom we ve got to do something ' Eric reported his mother that he had an idea I would like to make something to go onto the ID so that the police will know that me and my friends have autism so that they won t hurt us if we ever get stopped ' Linda announced Eric who has plans to become a pastor mentioned he was praying to God to send him the right symbol to use We were thinking about different things like a star he commented But then the butterfly magnets they had on their refrigerator at home came to mind So I stated Let s do a butterfly The butterfly represents hope peace freedom and change ' he explained and that became the centerpiece of their campaign We just want to thank every single person who supported this bill from Day One Eric commented His future plans include going to college to get a degree in political science and to eventually become a pastor We re just waiting for the date when the governor will sign the bill and we re super excited to stand there and watch him sign it and receive the ink pen she stated referring to the custom of passing the pens used to sign bills into law to the people who worked to get the ordinance passed Source