Lawmakers wrote the bill so it could prevent transgender people from changing their birth certificates, except for the 2019 federal court order, without specifically mentioning either birth certificates or driver’s licenses.įor weeks, a project of Kansas Legal Services, a nonprofit law firm, encouraged transgender Kansans to change their driver’s licenses before the new law took effect. Kobach has said he believes the new Kansas law also prevents transgender people from changing their driver’s licenses, though the law contains no specific enforcement mechanisms. At least nine other states have such laws, mostly focused on public schools. The new Kansas law is designed to prevent transgender people from using restrooms, locker rooms and other single-gender facilities associated with their identities. Kobach should rethink the wisdom - and the sheer indecency - of this attempt to weaponize his office’s authority to attack transgender Kansans just trying to live their lives.” Kansas ACLU Executive Director Micah Kubic added in a statement: “Mr. Supreme Court decision in 2020 declaring a federal law barring sex discrimination in employment also prevents discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It wasn’t clear whether Kobach’s effort would succeed, given a U.S.

“I thought this was already dealt with but I have the energy to go back and deal with it again if we have to.” “We didn’t go through that case just to have him try and change it now,” Bensimon said. Luc Bensimon, a Black transgender activist who was one of the plaintiffs in that lawsuit, said Saturday he was already getting calls and emails from people trying to change their birth certificates who are concerned they won’t be able to complete the process. The suit challenged a policy that critics said prevented transgender people from making changes even after transitioning, legally changing their names and obtaining new driver’s licenses and Social Security cards. District Judge Daniel Crabtree imposed the requirement in 2019 to settle a lawsuit filed by four transgender Kansas residents against three state health department officials. He is not seeking to undo past changes, only prevent them going forward. (AP) - Transgender people born in Kansas could be prevented from changing their birth certificates to reflect their gender identities if the state’s conservative Republican attorney general is successful with a legal move he launched late Friday.Īttorney General Kris Kobach filed a request in federal court asking a judge to end a requirement for Kansas to allow transgender people to change their birth certificates.

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