A Kansas law that invalidated about 1,700 driver’s licenses over the mismatch between birth gender and gender identity is being challenged in court by two transgender-identifying males.
The law invalidates birth certificates and driver’s licenses where the sex does not match the one assigned to the individual at birth. Invalidation notices were sent to trans-identifying persons this week.
‘This legislation is a direct attack on the dignity and humanity of transgender Kansans.’
Republicans argued that the law was necessary to protect women and girls, but the lawsuit claims that it is unconstitutional and “dehumanizing.”
Other states have similar laws, but Kansas is the only state that invalidates documents that were previously changed.
“The Kansas Constitution prohibits the Kansas Legislature’s targeting of transgender individuals for this discriminatory and dehumanizing treatment,” the lawsuit reads.
The two males are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and are only identified under the pseudonyms Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe. They want to remain anonymous out of fear of discrimination, harassment, and violence.
A statement from the ACLU says the law “violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.”
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About 1,800 birth certificates were also invalidated. The law was passed after the legislature overturned a veto from Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat.
“This legislation is a direct attack on the dignity and humanity of transgender Kansans,” reads a statement from ACLU Kansas legal director Monica Bennett. “It undermines our state’s strong constitutional protections against government overreach and persecution.”
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