Transgender Hoosiers push back on ban on driver's license gender changes. Will opposition matter?
BMV leaders, though, likely don't have much power to significantly alter the proposed rule since the agency has to comply with Braun's order.
"While we are committed to ensuring that all voices and points of view are heard and considered," Gregory Dunn, executive director of communications for the BMV said in a statement, "we also have a responsibility to carry out our duties as defined by law."
What was intended to be an hour-long public hearing stretched nearly three hours as speakers criticized what some described as an intentionally anti-transgender initiative by state elected officials. Among them were transgender Hoosiers and advocates alike, including a 15-year-old nonbinary teenager looking to get their driver's license and a man with an intersex partner.
Before Gov. Braun's order, people could change gender markers on their licenses by obtaining a court order, a process speakers described as arduous.
Under the proposed rule change, the gender on an individual's driver's license must reflect their biological sex determined at birth. An 'X' will no longer be allowed in place of a gender marker for nonbinary people. While driver's licenses that have already changed will remain valid, new licenses issued must follow the updated guidelines.
Shortly after Braun's executive order, the Indiana Department of Health told local health departments to stop accepting requests to change genders on birth certificates. When a health department subsequently refused to change the gender of a teenage transgender girl on the birth certificate, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sued the governor for allegedly violating the equal protection and privacy clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
The executive order has not been the first challenge to the BMV's policy of changing gender markers. In 2020, then-Attorney General Curtis Hill issued an advisory opinion saying the BMV did not have the authority to issue an 'X' as a gender marker. That opinion eventually led to an Indiana Court of Appeals decision in 2024 that determined 'gender' has the same legal meaning as 'sex" when it comes to laws pertaining to motor vehicles, a precedent that was cited by a regulatory analysis of the proposed rule change.
That same regulatory analysis became a point of contention for some speakers, specifically one line that listed 'impacted parties' as 'none.'
Those who testified cited scientific studies, legal principles, Bible verses and poems. They described hypothetical scenarios where the proposed rule change could cause more confusion at traffic stops, in hospitals and even when issuing a description for a missing person.
Among the speakers was Kit Malone, a transgender woman and former strategist for the ACLU who said the change will impact transgender Hoosiers in everyday scenarios where IDs are required, like bars, movie theaters and grocery store checkouts, because many will not look like the gender listed on their ID.
'I updated my ID because it was getting weird not to,' she said. 'I was getting looks.'
Eli Lucas, a transgender man who works for a Fortune 500 company in Indianapolis, said the change affects hardworking taxpayers like himself. He said he feared the change could complicate police interactions, enhance the risk of violence and create humiliation in everyday interactions that require an ID.
'We transgender Hoosiers are your neighbors, your coworkers, your friends and your family who simply want to live without fear,' he said.
Others spoke to the broader political climate, referencing a pastor who delivered a sermon in June at an Indianapolis church where he told congregants to pray for the deaths of LGBTQ+ people. Some who testified said they had friends who had left Indiana because of its attitude toward transgender people, but that they loved the state they grew up in too much to follow them.
Amy Kleyla, a combat veteran and 50501 protest organizer, said the national environment had gotten increasingly hostile as well. She said she transitioned 28 years ago but has never experienced as much hate as she has this year.
'That hate is force fed into the American people right now,' Kleyla said.
The BMV did not provide details about how much the agency could modify the proposed changes to still comply with Braun's executive order.
"Hoosiers have too many pressing needs to spend their tax dollars trying to redefine what it means to be a boy or a girl," Braun previously said when he signed the executive order. "Today's executive order will end any confusion about our state's policy on this issue so we can focus on my goal to secure freedom and opportunity for all Hoosiers."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Magazine
5 hours ago
- Time Magazine
Trump Administration Lets Federal Employees Promote Religion at Work
Federal employees can talk about and promote their religion at work, the Trump Administration said in new guidance released on Monday. The memo, from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), outlines examples of 'permissible religious expression in the workplace.' It cites the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to religious freedom and prevents the government from favoring a particular religion. 'Federal employees should never have to choose between their faith and their career,' OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a press release. 'This guidance ensures the federal workplace is not just compliant with the law but welcoming to Americans of all faiths. Under President Trump's leadership, we are restoring constitutional freedoms and making government a place where people of faith are respected, not sidelined.' The memo says federal workers can display and use religious items or icons at their desk, such as a Bible, rosary beads, or tefillin. Employees can also form a prayer group and gather for prayer or scripture study in the workplace, so long as they're not on duty at the time. And they can also 'engage in conversations regarding religious topics with fellow employees, including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views, provided that such efforts are not harassing in nature,' according to the memo. OPM also lists in the memo instances in which federal employees can express their religious beliefs among or to members of the public—for instance, park rangers joining their national park tour groups in prayer or doctors at Veterans Affairs medical centers praying over patients for their recovery. The memo follows previous efforts by the Trump Administration to expand the presence or expression of religion in the federal workplace. Earlier this month, OPM released guidance telling agencies that they were 'encouraged to adopt a generous approach to approving religious accommodations' for remote work, after President Donald Trump had previously instructed federal employees to return to in-office work five days a week. In February, Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at 'eradicating anti-Christian bias' by calling on Administration officials to identify, end, and rectify 'any unlawful and improper conduct, policies, or practices that target Christians.' The order accuses the Biden Administration of having 'engaged in an egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians, while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses.'
Indianapolis Star
5 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
Report: Head of EPA visits Indianapolis to announce major environmental policy change
U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is expected to announce a major policy proposal during a visit to Indianapolis on July 28 Zeldin has focused his tenure at the EPA rolling back environmental rules, slashing staff and advancing President Donald Trump's Unleashing America's Energy agenda. Zeldin will announce the repeal of what is known as the "endangerment finding," according to a report in E&E News, a publication of Politico. The EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions hinges on the endangerment finding — and rolling it back could exacerbate the threats posed by climate change to human health. Governor Mike Braun, Attorney General Todd Rokita and U.S. Rep. Jim Baird, are expected join Zeldin for the announcement at Kenworth of Indianapolis off East 30th Street. Greenhouse gases weren't always classified as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Concerns about motor vehicles emissions rising throughout the early 2000s led to a petition where 19 organizations called upon the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA rejected the petition, arguing that the gases weren't considered air pollutants subject to the Clean Air Act. Litigation ensued. And in 2007, the Supreme Court categorized greenhouse gases as 'without a doubt' air pollutants. In 2009, the endangerment finding gave the EPA authority to regulate six greenhouse gases — including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide — as threats to human health. That move contributed to regulations on emissions from cars, trucks, power plants and the oil and gas industry. Repealing the endangerment finding would be a step backward and is not supported by science, said Gabe Filippelli, a biogeochemist and professor of Earth sciences at Indiana University. 'One could argue that it is just another attempt to prop up the dirtiest of businesses we still have in the U.S., which includes coal burning power plants,' Filippelli said. Climate changes poses a real danger for Hoosiers, and revoking these rules is a case of businesses winning and communities losing, he said. The EPA balances economic needs with environmental protection, but the two issues are not at odds. 'We need business and electricity,' Filippelli said, 'but not at the expense of people's health.' IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at Follow him on BlueSky @ or X @karlstartswithk.
The Hill
9 hours ago
- The Hill
Trump memo allows federal workers to persuade coworkers their religion is ‘correct'
The Trump administration on Monday released a memo that aims to protect religious expression among federal workers, outlining that employees can attempt to persuade co-workers about why their religious beliefs are 'correct.' The memo outlined conduct that should not result in disciplinary or correct action, including displaying in the office bibles, religious artwork, jewelry, posters displaying religious messages and other indicia of religion 'such as crosses, crucifixes and mezuzah.' The memo also said one or more employees should be allowed to engage in individual or communal religious expressions and that employees can engage in conversations on religious topics 'including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views, provided that such efforts are not harassing in nature.' Federal workers can also 'encourage their coworkers to participate in religious expressions of faith, such as prayer, to the same extent that they would be permitted to encourage coworkers participate in other personal activities,' the memo said. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) director Scott Kupor sent the memo to heads of departments and agencies with guidance on how to allow personal religious expression by federal employees 'to the greatest extent possible unless such expression would impose an undue hardship on business operations.' OPM worked with the White House Faith Office to produce the memo, a spokesperson told The Hill. Trump established the office in February. The memo included details about how federal workers can engage with others about why they think their personal faith is 'correct' and why others should 're-think' their own beliefs. 'During a break, an employee may engage another in polite discussion of why his faith is correct and why the non-adherent should re-think his religious beliefs. However, if the nonadherent requests such attempts to stop, the employee should honor the request,' the memo added. 'An employee may invite another to worship at her church despite being belonging to a different faith.' The memo outlined specific examples of permissible religious expression in the workplace, like having a Bible on a desk or a Star of David and forming a prayer group with employees while not on duty hours. It also gave the example of a park ranger joining her tour group in prayer or a doctor at a Veterans Affairs hospital praying over a patient. 'The Federal workforce should be a welcoming place for Federal employees who practice a religious faith. Allowing religious discrimination in the Federal workplace violates the law. It also threatens to adversely impact recruitment and retention of highly-qualified employees of faith,' the memo said. The memo, first reported on by Fox News Digital, follows Trump's executive order on anti-Christian bias, which aims to protect Christians from religious discrimination.
