In a pivotal legal turn, the Arkansas Supreme Court has intervened to reinstate a contentious agency rule barring residents from using “X” as a gender marker on state-issued driver’s licenses or identification cards. Issued via a succinct one-page order on Monday, the ruling temporarily overrides a prior lower court decision that had paused the enforcement of this new policy. This measure also imposes more stringent criteria for transgender individuals seeking to alter their listed sex on official documents.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration initiated the rule change in March, contending that the previous allowance of an “X” option since 2010 lacked legal backing and had circumvented necessary legislative approval. Subsequently, a legislative panel endorsed an emergency rule to enforce these amendments, aligning Arkansas with other Republican-led states that have recently moved to codify sex as binary.

Attorney General Tim Griffin, a Republican, lauded the Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision to stay the lower court’s order, asserting that it enables the state to harmonize its identification protocols with established legal frameworks. However, this move has drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which mounted a lawsuit on behalf of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex residents challenging the emergency rule.

Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, condemned the state’s actions, underscoring that eliminating the “X” marker option compels individuals who diverge from traditional gender norms into inaccurate categorizations, potentially subjecting them to confusion, discrimination, and harm. The ACLU argued that the emergency rule imposed undue hardship on affected Arkansans and rebuked the state for catalyzing a crisis through its unilateral policy decisions.

Arkansas is now advancing plans to formalize the new policy on gender markers through a permanent rule, signaling an enduring legal and societal battleground over gender identity rights within the state. Jim Hudson, Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration, expressed appreciation for the court’s stay, announcing the immediate reinstatement of revised procedures in accordance with the court’s directive.

Before this legal contest, Arkansas had been among at least 22 states and the District of Columbia permitting the “X” designation on licenses and IDs, recognizing the identities of nonbinary and intersex individuals. Existing licenses and IDs with an “X” marker will remain valid until their expiry dates, although future modifications to gender markers will now mandate a court order, complicating the process for transgender Arkansans who previously relied on amended birth certificates.

The DFA defended its policy shift by citing legal deficiencies in the prior practice and emphasizing the imperative of adhering to prescribed public comment protocols and legislative oversight. As Arkansas proceeds with updated identification regulations, the discourse on gender identity and governmental acknowledgment persists amidst broader societal and legal challenges across the United States.