Arkansas Drops the Hammer on Transgender ‘Nonsense'
"The ongoing political clash between common sense and absurdity reflects the current state of affairs.
Transgender ideology, which challenges common sense and physical reality, is being solidified and incorporated into laws and official documents. Advocates for common sense are pushing back against this movement in various arenas, including government institutions, classrooms, and even within religious congregations.
The forefront of the common sense movement features women. Women and girls are the primary targets of the transgender movement, which seeks to replace them with a distorted image of femininity.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders stands as a champion of common sense, actively opposing the absurdity.
On Tuesday, her administration announced the discontinuation of allowing residents to use “X” as a gender marker on state-issued driver’s licenses or identification cards.
“This action reinstates DFA’s longstanding policy requiring license and ID holders to indicate their gender as either ‘male’ or ‘female,’ as stated on their original or amended birth certificates,” stated the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration in a press release.
The Associated Press raised concerns that this change would “create hurdles for transgender individuals seeking to update the gender marker on their licenses and IDs.”
Governor Sanders has been involved in the gender debate for some time. Last year, she issued an executive order prohibiting gender-neutral terms in state documents.
In a statement on Tuesday, she remarked, “This new policy is simply common sense. Only women can give birth, men should not compete in women’s sports, and there are only two genders. As long as I’m Governor, Arkansas state government will not endorse absurdity.”
According to the AP, this measure “eliminates the ‘X’ option that had been available to nonbinary and intersex residents” since 2010.
The proposal will undergo review by a legislative committee of the Arkansas General Assembly for approval, as reported by Fox News. Previously issued licenses and IDs with the “X” designation will remain valid until expiration. Individuals identifying as “X” will update their gender marker upon renewal.
DFA Secretary Jim Hudson emphasized that the previous “X” policy did not undergo public comment or legislative review as required by state law.
“This change, announced today, takes a common-sense approach to ensure that licenses and IDs issued by the State of Arkansas are based on factual, verifiable information,” stated Hudson in a release. “Our stakeholders, including law enforcement, government agencies, caregivers, schools, and businesses, rely on DFA-issued licenses and IDs for community safety and fraud prevention.”
However, not everyone supports this common sense decision.
“This proposed policy aims to erase the identity of nonbinary and intersex Arkansans by denying them identity documents that reflect their true selves, forcing them into categories that do not align with their identities,” stated the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, a proponent of the absurdity.
The battle continues. Despite nearly half of U.S. states and the District of Columbia allowing an “X” option on licenses and IDs, as per Fox News, those identifying differently from their biological sex constitute a small minority.
For instance, among roughly 2.6 million active Arkansas driver’s licenses, only 342 have the “X” designation. Out of approximately 503,000 IDs, Arkansas has 174 with the “X” designation.
In 2022, about 1.6 percent of the U.S. population identified as transgender or nonbinary, according to Pew Research. Altering laws and bureaucratic systems extensively to accommodate such a small minority goes against common sense.
Arkansas’s recent move reflects a growing trend among Republican-led states to define sex in binary terms, aligning with the common sense truth of male and female as ordained by God.
Critics argue that such a binary definition discriminates against those identifying as transgender or nonbinary. However, proponents of common sense argue that feelings do not always align with reality, and altering reality to suit feelings is misguided.
Individuals born with atypical external genitalia or internal reproductive systems represent exceptions to the rule, rather than redefining the rule itself."