The Arkansas Supreme Court has decided that the letter 'X' is out, reinstating a ban on the gender designation for state IDs, much to the chagrin of the ACLU and nonbinary residents.

The high court's ruling means the state's Department of Finance and Administration can finally return driver’s licenses and identification cards to the 'gender binary' standard, ignoring nonbinary options and fulfilling what some might consider an urgent priority of distinguishing who is 'M' and who is 'F' for the 370 or so brave souls who dared to be something else. Meanwhile, civil rights groups argue that this ruling not only rolls back progress but also causes real harm to the handful who checked 'X' on their IDs—like trying to reclassify unicorns back into horses.

In a twist bounding between bureaucracy and bewilderment, the Arkansas Supreme Court has reinstated a state law that says you’re either an 'M' or an 'F'—no ifs, ands, or ‘X’s about it. This legal leap backward came after a lower court had put a stop to the bill, arguing that it would unfairly harm transgender residents who had, until now, been able to select 'X' as their gender on state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin lauded the decision as a victory for state law over what he characterized as 'improper' and 'unauthorized' changes. 'Today’s ruling reaffirms that it's important to follow the legislative processes in place,' Griffin said in a statement. This statement, of course, assumes a process that doesn’t consider the chaotic joy of not being strictly this or that.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been at the forefront of opposing the legislation, suing to halt it and leading to the previous court order that had blocked the new rule. Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, was less than thrilled. 'This ruling will cause confusion, distress, discrimination, physical harm, and a lack of proper identification for some of our most vulnerable residents,' Dickson said. When you consider that fewer than half of U.S. states allow 'X' as a valid gender on identification forms, you get a sense of the broader battleground for gender identity issues in America. It's almost as if some states think the alphabet ends at 'M'—M for male or F for female, that is.

The Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision now allows the state's Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) to update its identification rules to align with state law. According to the DFA, the previous practice permitting an 'X' gender designation conflicted with state law and skirted proper legislative processes and public comment periods. Evidently, the red tape has now caught up with the rainbow tape.

If you’re among Arkansas' 387 drivers sporting the 'X' on your license, you have some time before needing to confront this binary conundrum in full force. Existing licenses and IDs will remain valid through their expiration dates, giving residents a fast-closing window before they must revert to identifying as 'M' or 'F'—as dictated by new policies that feel woefully old.

One of the more immediate impacts of the Supreme Court’s decision is an emergency rule approved by a legislative panel, making life a touch more challenging for transgender residents. The emergency rule not only reinforces the ban on the 'X' designation but also complicates the process for changing the sex listed on one's license or ID. More red tape, fewer options: it’s a simple equation, though not necessarily a happy one.

Currently, 21 states and Washington, D.C., still offer the 'X' gender option on identification forms. With Arkansas’ exit from this more inclusive practice, we see the extent to which local policy can diverge, leaving residents feeling like they’re being shuffled across a patchwork quilt of varied legal landscapes. It’s a reminder that, even in 2023, one state's step forward can look quite different from another’s.

The numbers, as they often are, are telling. Out of Arkansas' 2.6 million active driver's licenses, only 387 feature the 'X' designation. On IDs, it’s just 167 out of 503,000. Despite these minimal figures, the debate and legal battles have been anything but small. It's a situation where the struggle for recognition hits home for a modest but significant slice of the population.

Another point of contention is the cumbersome requirement to change one's sex marker on official documents. Arkansas’ law necessitates a court order for such changes on birth certificates. This added layer of legal hoops is likely to persist and possibly grow thornier following this ruling. The DFA noted that the previous 'X' designation practice had not gone through the required public comment process and legislative review. For many in the LGBTQ+ community, this bureaucratic oversight feels less like an oversight and more like someone tripped over a power cord and called it a grand policy idea.

So, while the state celebrates its self-proclaimed triumph of legislative order, the real story remains with those forced to conform to binary choices that don’t reflect their identities. The ruling places Arkansas among the states that do not recognize 'X' as a gender. For those tiny figures of 387 and 167, their IDs will soon be less a mark of their true selves and more a state-mandated label they must reluctantly wear. Well, at least the state is keeping things ‘simple’—if by simple, one means disregarding the complexities of real human identities.