The Indiana Supreme Court will not review an Indiana Court of Appeals ruling that holds that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles cannot issue "X" gender driver's licenses to nonbinary Hoosiers until a law authorizing it to do so is approved by the General Assembly and enacted by the governor. Indiana BMV
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles cannot issue "X" gender driver's licenses to nonbinary Hoosiers until a law authorizing it to do so is approved by the General Assembly and enacted by the governor.
The Indiana Supreme Court, by a 3-2 margin, agreed Thursday to let stand an April 9 Court of Appeals decision reversing a Monroe Circuit Court ruling that directed the BMV to reinstate a policy briefly in effect in 2019 permitting Hoosiers who identify as neither male nor female to use "X" as the gender marker on their driver's licenses.
The appeals court said even though Indiana's driver's license law requires the "gender" of the holder be included on the license, the use of "gender" does not mean "gender identity," which the court said is how a person identifies themselves based on an internal sense and potentially could include a nonbinary designation.
Rather, the court concluded based on dictionary definitions, related laws and the BMV's interpretation of the statute that the term "gender" must be interpreted as "sex" — which it said is limited to male and female.
The BMV's interpretation of the statute no longer is relevant. As of July 1, House Enrolled Act 1003 (2024) directs Indiana courts, when addressing regulatory disputes, to ignore any agency interpretations of the statutes pertaining to the agency and to instead decide all questions of law without deference to the agency.
Regardless, Indiana Supreme Court Justices Derek Molter, Mark Massa and Geoffrey Slaughter saw no need to review the Court of Appeals decision, while Chief Justice Loretta Rush and Justice Christopher Goff said they would have granted transfer.
Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita, an outspoken foe of legal rights and protections for transgender Hoosiers, said following the decision: "Common sense has prevailed once again."
Records show the BMV began offering a third gender option in 2019 to follow the credential standards recommended by the American Academy of Motor Vehicle Administrators, which include an "X" gender identifier.
The BMV scuttled the option in early 2020 after then-Attorney General Curtis Hill Jr., a Republican, issued a nonbinding opinion holding that only the General Assembly can decide whether the state will codify any nonbinary designations on official documents.
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