Arkansas IDs will no longer have a gender-neutral option, ending a policy that allowed Arkansans to opt for an "X" in lieu of a male or female designation on their driver's license or other forms of state IDs.
The Department of Finance and Administration announced the policy change Tuesday in a news release, saying it will repeal "existing administrative practice that allows license holders to change their gender without any verifiable information, or to utilize an 'X' in lieu of gender."
"This policy is just common sense," Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in the news release. "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 policy change won't affect existing IDs, which will remain valid until the license's expiration date, according to the news release.
Currently there are 342 Arkansas driver's licenses and 174 state IDs that have an "X" designation listed under gender, Finance Department spokesman Scott Hardin told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Hardin said going forward the gender listed on one's license must match what is listed on official government documentation such as birth certificate or passport.
The Department of Finance originally made policy allowing for a gender neutral option on driver's licenses in 2010. The measure came down through a December 2010 memorandum referred to as the "no questions asked" policy that allowed for Arkansas residents to decide how to list their gender on their ID, Hardin said.
"There wasn't a rule or anything beyond that. It was just a memo sent to the state's revenue offices," Hardin said.
While the new policy will take effect immediately for new IDs and licenses, Hardin said, the finance department has submitted an emergency rule to be reviewed by lawmakers on the Arkansas Legislative Council's Executive Subcommittee.
"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," Jim Hudson, secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration, said in a statement. "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 American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas released a statement hours after the finance department announced the new practice calling it a "regressive and damaging policy."
"This proposed policy seeks to erase the existence of non-binary and intersex Arkansans by denying them identity documents that reflect their true selves, forcing them into categories that do not represent their identities," ACLU of Arkansas said in a statement. "The ability to use a gender-neutral marker, such as "X," is essential for the safety and recognition of non-binary and intersex individuals -- a stance supported by 22 states, the District of Columbia, and federal regulations regarding passports and other documents."
Arkansas is the latest state to remove the gender neutral option from its state IDs after Florida announced in January a policy no longer allowing residents to switch the gender on their driver's license, according to a report from USA Today.
"There's more than two genders, you know, male and female," Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, an Arkansas LGBT rights activist said Tuesday in an interview with the Democrat-Gazette. "To have the option to use that terminology to describe yourself, you know, it's very important to us because it shows that we do exist."