The law is named after Eric Blessed Carpenter Grantham, a 20-year-old disability advocate from Montgomery County who has been pushing for this law since 2023.
Written by Ittai Sopher for WUSA9 and Melange Accessible Tidbits, February 13, 2025
A bill aimed at creating safer interactions between law enforcement and some people with disabilities had its first Senate hearing on Thursday.
SB 618, known as Eric’s ID Law would give anyone with a “nonapparent disability” or an invisible disability the option to apply for an identifying sticker on their driver’s licenses.
The law is named after Eric Blessed Carpenter Grantham, a 20-year-old disability advocate from Montgomery County who has been pushing for this law since 2023.
“I created the logos because my mother felt that if I should ever be stopped by law enforcement, I will not be able to respond in a matter that the police will respect,” Grantham said on Thursday. “God has blessed me with the idea to create special logos to put on IDs for people like me and my friends, who have invisible disabilities.”
Grantham spoke out in favor of the law on Thursday in Annapolis next to his mother, Jennifer Carpenter Grantham, Maryland state senators, delegates and local law enforcement officers.
Eric Carpenter Grantham, who has autism, also listed mental health issues and hearing impairments as other examples of invisible disabilities that would be covered by Eric’s ID Law.
According to the law, anyone with “developmental disabilities” or “intellectual disabilities” could qualify.
Eric’s ID Law was introduced by Sen. William C. Smith, a Democrat who represents Silver Spring and Takoma Park.
“Across the country, we have seen tragic incidents involving law enforcement that often stem from miscommunication and misunderstandings,” Sen. Smith said on Friday.
Licenses issued would feature a butterfly with colorful wings. According to a letter submitted to Maryland’s State Assembly, the logo symbolizes “change, hope, freedom and peace.”
Eric Carpenter Grantham and Jennifer Carpenter Grantham also gave credit to daytime talk show hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd, who welcomed the two on their respective shows to talk about their disability advocacy within the last year.
“This is remarkable,” Goldberg said about Eric’s Law in July 2024, when Eric and Jennifer appeared on THE VIEW. “We can get people to understand why it’s important.”
Riding his appearances on “The View” and “Sherri,” the Carpenter Granthams said they are hoping to also go to Capitol Hill to meet with members of the United States Congress about turning the state ID bill into a federal law.