LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas has announced they are suing the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) over an emergency rule restricting transgender and nonbinary Arkansans from self-identifying their gender on driver's licenses.
Arkansas citizens had previously been allowed to self-identify a gender on their driver's license, with an option for "X," but on March 15, the DFA imposed an emergency rule demanding the listed gender match the person's birth certificate, and eliminating the "X" option.
The ACLU argues that the emergency ruling violates the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, which demands a 30-day public notice and comment period unless the ruling was made under federal law, or to prevent an "imminent peril to public health."
Executive Director of the Arkansas ACLU Holly Dickson said, "There is no 'imminent peril' created by recognizing and respecting a person's affirmed gender identity ... This rule is not safeguarding Arkansans; it's compromising their safety, their mental health, and their ability to participate fully in society."
Legal Director for the Arkansas ACLU John Williams stated that "the law requires agencies to listen to the people affected by their rules. Agencies cannot fabricate emergencies to evade that responsibility. Having failed to seek public input as required by law, DFA will now hear from us in court."
The ACLU said they are seeking:
- A declaratory judgment that the emergency rule is invalid due to its violation of administrative procedures and lack of any stated emergency
- A preliminary and permanent injunction to halt the enforcement of the rule and to require the DFA to revert to the prior, inclusive policy.
Scott Hardin with the DFA said the department has always considered reversing the policy.
The reversal of this policy reportedly "restores DFA's long-standing policy" that license and ID holders must display either male or female, according to a press release. DFA Secretary Jim Hudson said the change is to "ensure" any license issued by the state is "based on objective, verifiable information."
"The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration has more than 3.1 million active driver's licenses and IDs," Hardin said. "Of that total, 516 have the 'X' designation. With this change today, we ensure our government-issued licenses and IDs are backed by verifiable documents and maintain consistency across government documents."
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the reversal of the policy "common sense."
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