Kansas Transgender Individuals Supported by Democrats in Legal Battle for Right to Modify Identification

Officials working under the Democratic governor of Kansas are contesting a court order that temporarily prevents the state from permitting transgender individuals to amend their gender on driver’s licenses.

According to the state’s Department of Revenue, Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach lacked the legal jurisdiction to launch a lawsuit, which resulted in a district judge temporarily banning transgender people from altering their licenses, at least until November 1. The Democratic officials’ most recent response in court was dated on Friday.

Kobach asserts that the allowance for individuals to modify their gender identity on state IDs, referred to as “sex” by the state, infringes on a Kansas law enacted on July 1. This law rolled back transgender rights. Despite the new legislation, Governor Laura Kelly had declared that these changes would persist. Currently, Kansas joins a handful of states, including Montana, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, which prohibit such alterations.

The Department of Revenue, which is responsible for driver’s license matters in Kansas via its Division of Vehicles, claimed in court documents submitted Friday that the attorney general needed the governor, the Legislature, or the local district attorney’s permission to initiate a case in state district court. However, Kobach counters this, arguing that prior court rulings and legal customs granted him the right to file a lawsuit.

The lawsuit is underway in Shawnee County, which hosts the state capital, Topeka.

The legal team for the Revenue Department in their recent filing stated, “This is a gross misrepresentation and without further evidence, necessitates the immediate dismissal of this case.”

The Attorney General’s office did not promptly reply to text and email inquiries sent on Sunday requesting a comment.

Judge Teresa Watson initially agreed with Kobach’s position, setting a hearing for November 1 to decide on whether to cease alterations in driver’s licenses after this date. She has also scheduled an August 16 hearing on a request from five transgender Kansas citizens who wish to participate in the case, a move that Kobach opposes.

The newly introduced law undermining transgender rights identifies male and female based on an individual’s “reproductive system” at birth, thereby denying legal acknowledgment of a change in gender identity and applying this rule in “any” other law or regulation. The Republican-dominated Legislature overrode Governor Kelly’s veto of this legislation.

The Department of Revenue initially, albeit unsuccessfully, contended that it still had to adhere to older and more specific laws related to driver’s licenses that conflict with the new law.

Their latest arguments are also technical, hinging on a strict interpretation of the law delineating the Attorney General’s authority and other laws outlining when agency actions can be scrutinized by district courts.

The transgender individuals who are striving to join the lawsuit claim that the law opposing transgender rights infringes on civil liberties safeguarded by the Kansas Constitution, including the right to bodily autonomy.

In a separate federal court case, Kobach is also attempting to prevent the state from altering the birth certificates of transgender residents in Kansas.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Transgender rights in Kansas

More about Transgender rights in Kansas

• Transgender Rights in the United States
• Kansas State Law
• Attorney General Kris Kobach
• Governor Laura Kelly
• Kansas Department of Revenue
• Civil Liberties
• The Constitution of the State of Kansas