On Feb. 26, thousands of transgender individuals residing in Kansas received official letters from the state’s Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles stating that their driver’s licenses are no longer valid. This change subjected them to immediate termination of their current licenses and did not allow a grace period.
According to the Kansas Department of Revenue, “pursuant to the [SB 224] 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 (DOV).” Other states, such as Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Tennessee and Texas, have similar laws, which do not allow people to update the gender marker on their driver’s licenses. These states, as well as Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma and Montana, do not allow people to update the gender marker on their birth certificate. The invalidation of the license is due to the change of gender on their documents, now forcing a prompt change back to the gender assigned at birth, regardless of one’s alignment or appearance.
Beyond invalidating the driver’s licenses, SB 244, passed into law over Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto, prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and allows others to sue if they suspect this usage. In addition, it bans transgender Kansans from making any future changes to their gender marker on their state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses. Violating these limitations can lead to a Class B misdemeanor, which is up to six months in prison.
These changes stand to be illogical and unfair.
The majority of transgender individuals who undergo gender reassignment surgery or are on various hormone stoppers or inducers to alter their physical appearance do not even resemble their gender at birth. Forcing individuals into their original gender’s space calls for unnecessary measures that will lead to the transgender individuals’ and the public’s discomfort and confusion. Yes, these individuals may not be able to fully change their gender biologically, but if all of the outward appearances match their new, desired gender, why force them into a space where they are the outlier? Taking these steps only delays the peaceful and necessary integration of transgender individuals into our communities. If the reasoning for these legislative changes is to halt transgender conversion, these lawmakers must see that it is not possible.
Transgender people are here, and certainly here to stay. Instead of finding ways to make them seem even more outcast than they already may feel, governmental leaders must find ways to help collectively find a peaceful arrangement for this demographic. Transgender people are not monsters, they are not animals and they certainly do not deserve to be placed in a cage where they do not look like any of the animals inside. Simply stated, these people did not feel comfortable in their skin and have now decided that they need to make a change in their lives. They do not deserve to be treated like impostors when they have already felt like impostors in their own skin for so long.
Although many argue that this law is not based on transphobia and simply acts to protect true genetic identity for clarity and organization, in reality, the majority of transgender people have undergone extensive reassignment surgery, which altered their appearance and reality. Truly, this action from the Republican supermajority in the Kansas Legislature is an act of transmisia and motivated by pure hatred.
On Feb. 27, the same day as the letter dispatch, with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), two transgender Kansas residents filed a lawsuit in state court challenging this new law. The Doe v. State of Kansas lawsuit was filed on behalf of anonymous Plaintiffs Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe. The lawsuit charges violations of the “constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process and freedom of speech,” according to the ACLU. Debated now in court, this law is unthinkable and an attack on the transgender population is unconstitutional, directly harming the lives and identity of these groups of people, proving to be a precise issue regarding private belief clashing with matters and laws of government.
The Plaintiffs argued that it “violates rights to privacy, personal autonomy and due legal process guaranteed by the Kansas state constitution,” according to The Guardian.
These various constraints of the bill serve as an ambush on the transgender community, dismissing their dignity and a fundamental core part of their identity and self-expression. To establish laws against them and block these people’s identity dismisses their entire livelihood in the process.
Transgender people hold just the same amount of rights as other individuals; simply because they do not depict the beliefs of the lawmakers does not make them any less worthy of having a free right to serve themselves in the world.
Throughout history, those in higher power feel inconvenienced by a group of people; those with more power push out these minorities over and over again until their beliefs are upheld. This time, history repeats itself, but it is time to make the cycle stop. Clearly, we see that our country is, in fact, not as free as we would like to think. To all LGBTQ+ individuals and allies, stand together, fight through legislation and march on the streets to combat these horrific realities.
