April 16, 2025

2 entries on this date.

Apr 16

Arkansas Gov. Sanders signed Act 711, barring the 'X' marker and requiring only 'M' or 'F' sex designations on state IDs

On April 16, 2025, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed House Bill 1796, enacted as Act 711 of 2025, requiring that driver's licenses and state identification cards display gender information as only "M" for male or "F" for female. The law prohibits issuing an ID with an "X" designation or no gender information and ties the marker to the applicant's birth certificate or other identity document, requiring an amended birth certificate to change it. The statute codifies a state rule that had removed the nonbinary option and the pathway transgender and nonbinary Arkansans used to correct their sex designation.

Apr 16

Arkansas enacted Act 677 shielding government workers and licensed professionals who refuse duties over religious beliefs about marriage or sex

On April 16, 2025, Arkansas enacted Act 677 (HB1615), the "religious nondiscrimination" law, signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The statute bars the state from denying licenses, certifications, contracts, or employment consequences to individuals and organizations that decline to provide services conflicting with a "sincerely held religious belief, including a belief about biological sex or marriage," and expressly permits government employees authorized to license or solemnize marriages to recuse themselves on that basis. Civil-rights advocates say it authorizes identity-based refusals of public services and licensed professional care to LGBTQ+ Arkansans.