Braun's new executive order makes it harder for transgender people to change driver's licenses

Yahoo

04-03-2025

Gov. Mike Braun on Tuesday signed an executive order that bans the state government from promoting so-called "modern gender ideology" with several implications for transgender Hoosiers.
Among other changes, it could restrict transgender Hoosiers from getting an Indiana driver's license that uses a gender identity that's different from the sex they were assigned at birth and could also result in future challenges for people who seek to change their birth certificates with an updated gender identity.
The other executive order signed by Braun Tuesday would block transgender women from playing on women's college sports teams in Indiana, but that practice was already recently banned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The state under Braun's administration will "respect and enforce the biological binary of man and woman as a fundamental," according to one of two executive orders signed by Braun.
"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 said. "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."
Both executive orders were immediately criticized by groups supporting the LGBTQ community as dehumanizing, but Braun defended his actions.
"Biological sex is written in our DNA," Braun said. "Replacing the scientific fact of biological sex with the ever-shifting, self-reported idea of gender identity has real consequences, puts women in danger (in) female-only places like prisons. It destroys opportunities for women in sports, and it tells troubled kids that their mental health problems can be solved with sterilizing drugs and irreversible sex change operations."
The executive order that refers to state government says that gender, when referring to a human being, is "synonymous with sex" and that sex "means an individual human being's immutable biological classification as either male or female."
Braun is banning state funds from being used to promote gender ideology, including by issuing or maintaining any "statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications or other messages that promote or otherwise inculcate modern gender ideology," according to the order.
The order could impact transgender Hoosiers seeking to update their driver's licenses with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles with a change in gender identity, and complicate court-ordered changes to people's birth certificates.
During the Holcomb administration, the BMV allowed gender changes on drivers licenses. Transgender people could visit a BMV branch to change their license to male, female or not specified, or "X" by showing an amended birth certificate or physician's statement.
Now, the Braun administration says that it will no longer issue driver's licenses with the X gender marker, and that it will only change people's genders on drivers licenses from their sex assigned at birth "by court order," according to deputy chief of staff Molly Craft.
There was some confusion when Braun announced the executive order about whether it would apply to drivers licenses. Initially, when asked by reporters, Braun said there'd been no declaration on that and "what else might be impacted by it remains to be seen."
However, the governor's office later clarified that Braun had misspoke. Not only would it impact driver's licenses, the administration had sent out guidance earlier in the day to all of the state's BMV branches.
The less than 250 people with an X gender marker on their drivers license in Indiana will still have a valid license, but will not be able to renew it without changing the gender to male or female, according to the governor's office. They will need to show a birth certificate to support the change.
Sex changes to birth certificates already requires a court order in Indiana, but that could get more complicated under the executive order as well. Those birth certificates are issued by county health departments and then shared by the Department of Health.
"Any changes to birth certificates after initial issue must be run through IDOH's database," according to Craft. "As directed in (the executive order), IDOH will push back on county courts that try to change sex on a birth certificate after issuance."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana criticized the executive orders as "diminishing our state and the quality of life for people living in it," according to Executive Director Chris Daley. Daley said the organization would evaluate whether it will respond with a lawsuit.
"Gov. Braun came into office with priorities around education, efficiency of government, quality of life for all Hoosiers, and (in) the first hundred days, he's issued executive orders targeting hardworking immigrants, the medical privacy rights of Hoosier women, and now the safety and wellbeing of transgender Hoosiers," Daley told IndyStar. "We object to any actions taken by state government that fail to recognize the identity of transgender people in our state."
The IYG, which bills itself as a "queer youth organization" that supports the LGBTQ+ community, said the orders contained "dehumanizing language" that shows "animus to trans people."
"Quite simply, transgender people are who they say they are," the IYG said in a statement. "There is no evidence anywhere to suggest that acknowledging the reality of the transgender experience harms anyone."
Before Braun's pair of executive orders, the Indiana General Assembly was already considering legislation that would ban transgender women from college women's sports. House Bill 1041 passed the House last month by a 71-25 vote, and the bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Contact senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Braun makes it harder for transgender people to change driver's licenses