“The Persecution Is The Point”: Kansas Voids Trans Residents’ IDs
A new state law will invalidate roughly 1,700 driver’s licenses and up to 1,800 birth certificates, forcing trans Kansans to surrender previously updated documents.
In an unprecedented move, Kansas will begin invalidating roughly 1,700 driver’s licenses held by transgender residents this week under a new state law that also requires the reissuance of up to 1,800 birth certificates. The measure goes further than similar anti-trans policies in other states by reversing gender marker changes that were previously approved.
The law, S.B. 244, takes effect Thursday after Republican supermajorities in the Legislature overrode Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto. It requires that state identification documents list only the sex a person was assigned at birth and declares any conflicting documents void.
In letters dated February 23, the Kansas Division of Vehicles notified affected residents that their licenses will become invalid immediately upon publication of the law in the Kansas Register. There is no grace period.
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“This means that once the law is officially enacted, your current credential will be invalid immediately and you may be subject to additional penalties if you are operating a vehicle without a valid credential,” the letter states. “Pursuant to the new law, if the gender/sex indication on the face of your current credential does not match your sex assigned at birth, you are directed to surrender your current credential to the Kansas Division of Vehicles. Upon surrendering the credential, you will be issued a new credential reflecting the gender identification consistent with statutory requirements.”
Driving without a valid license in Kansas can result in a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, and a 90 day license suspension. Jails in Kansas house inmates according to sex assigned at birth, raising additional concerns for transgender residents.
While states including Florida, Tennessee, and Texas do not allow transgender residents to update the gender marker on their driver’s licenses, Kansas appears to be the only state requiring previously approved changes to be undone.
Gov. Kelly, who has supported transgender rights, called the bill “poorly drafted” and warned it would “cost Kansas taxpayers millions of dollars to comply with” its “vague” provisions. Lawmakers did not allocate funding to cover replacement costs, meaning residents will pay $26 for a standard driver’s license.
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Democratic state Rep. Abi Boatman, the only out transgender member of the Kansas Legislature, said, “It tells me that Kansas Republicans are interested in being on the vanguard of the culture war and in a race to the bottom,” according to AP.
Boatman was even more blunt in another interview with the Kansas City Star: “The persecution is the point.”
The new law builds on previous restrictions enacted by the Legislature. Kansas already bans gender affirming care for minors and bars transgender girls and women from participating on female sports teams from kindergarten through college. Lawmakers have also prohibited transgender residents from using public restrooms and other single sex facilities consistent with their gender identity, adding enforcement provisions this year.
