Arkansas Reverses Non-Binary ID Policy

Arkansas has reversed a previous policy that allowed state residents to list themselves as “nonbinary” — defined by radical leftists as “a gender identity that does not conform” to the “binary” male or female genders — on their driver’s licenses.

On Tuesday, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) announced that residents would no longer be able to register their gender as “X” — signifying “nonbinary” — on their driver’s licenses, arguing that this reversal will “safeguard” state IDs.

According to the press release, the new policy will require Arkansas license and ID holders to list their gender as either “male” or “female” based on their actual gender registered on their birth certificate.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) celebrated the restoration of the DFA’s previous standards in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter — where she stated harsh truths about gender ideology that will likely further upset the radical left.

“This policy is just common sense. Only women give birth, men shouldn’t play women’s sports, and there are only two genders. As long as I’m Governor, Arkansas state government will not endorse nonsense,” the Republican governor wrote.

Only women give birth, men shouldn’t play women’s sports, and there are only two genders.

As long as I’m Governor, Arkansas state government will not endorse nonsense. https://t.co/P02msUA5ys

— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) March 12, 2024

However, the DFA noted in its announcement that any Arkansas resident who had already updated their license or ID with their gender marked as “X” will be allowed to continue using it without updating to the correct gender until it expires. These IDs will then be updated in accordance with the new policy when they are renewed.

DFA Secretary Jim Hudson issued a statement about the changes, noting that they were based on a “commonsense approach.”

“This change announced today reflects a commonsense approach that ensures a license or ID issued by the State of Arkansas is based on objective, verifiable information,” Hudson said. “All of our stakeholders in law enforcement, other government agencies, caregivers, schools, and businesses depend on DFA-issued licenses and IDs to keep our communities safe and to prevent fraud. The discontinued policy is not supported by Arkansas law and was never subject to public comment and review by the Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC), as required by the Administrative Procedures Act.”

“We are committed to implementing this new policy in a manner that is respectful towards all of our customers,” he added.

Arkansas’ move follows similar action from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which issued a memo in late January that reversed a previous rule allowing Floridians to change their gender to reflect their fictitious “gender identity.”

A judge in Kansas also ruled last year that residents could not change their driver’s licenses to reflect their so-called “gender identity.” The ruling was challenged in the courts by leftists at the ACLU who claimed that it was a violation of transgender peoples’ constitutional rights, but a judge recently ruled that the policy change does not violate the rights of individuals who identify as transgender.