Devendra Kumar
In a move to block transgender residents from changing their sex on their driver’s licenses, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has taken the Democratic governor, Laura Kelly, to court. Kobach argues that the new law, which defines a person’s sex as male or female based on their “biological reproductive system” at birth, applies equally to birth certificates and driver’s licenses. However, the lawsuit filed on Friday only addresses driver’s licenses and does not touch on birth certificates.
The new law, which took effect on Saturday, prohibits the state from allowing residents to change their sex on their driver’s licenses and requires the state to reverse any previous changes. Kobach claims that the law requires the state to treat male and female as binary categories, and that allowing transgender people to change their sex on their driver’s licenses would violate this requirement.
Kobach’s lawsuit seeks to stop Kelly and agencies under her control from allowing the changes to transgender people’s licenses. He argues that Kelly is “violating her oath of office” by refusing to enforce the new law and that she cannot “pick and choose which laws she will enforce and which laws she will ignore.”
Kelly, on the other hand, has stated that her administration will continue to allow transgender people to change the markers for sex on their driver’s licenses and birth certificates. Her office has concluded that doing so does not violate the new law.
Ty Goeke, a 37-year-old transgender resident of Topeka, expressed his relief and confidence after changing his birth certificate and driver’s license. He said, “For me to go into a bathroom and not have a marker that represents who I am, I was terrified. I was afraid I was going to get accosted or harassed.”
The legal wrangling surrounding the issue is complicated by a federal lawsuit filed in 2018 over a previous no-changes policy on birth certificates imposed under a Republican governor. Kelly settled the lawsuit after taking office in January 2019 and a federal judge issued an order to enforce the settlement, requiring the state to allow birth certificate changes. Kobach has asked the federal judge to rescind his order, but argues that the new state law supersedes it.
The case is now before a district court in Shawnee County, where it is unclear how quickly it will be resolved. Kobach’s lawsuit could lead to a lengthy legal battle and potentially delay a resolution for months. In the meantime, transgender residents like Goeke continue to express their relief and confidence in their identities, while Kobach and his supporters argue that the law is necessary to protect privacy and safety.