A federal judge ruled on Thursday that Kansas officials must stop altering transgender people’s birth certificates to reflect their gender identities. The ruling came after Republican state Attorney General Kris Kobach sought to block these changes due to a new state law that restricts transgender rights. Kansas now joins Montana, Oklahoma, and Tennessee in prohibiting birth certificate changes for transgender individuals. Additionally, Kansas is one of the few states that currently does not allow gender identity changes on driver’s licenses, due to another lawsuit filed by Kobach last month. These actions are in response to a state law that went into effect on July 1.
In federal court, Kobach successfully reversed a policy implemented under Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s administration. This policy was established as part of a settlement for a lawsuit filed in 2018 by four transgender individuals, who challenged a previous Republican policy that disallowed birth certificate changes. The settlement required the state to allow the changes and over 900 transgender people have already taken advantage of this. Transgender residents and Governor Kelly argued that denying these changes would violate constitutional rights, a point acknowledged by Judge Crabtree in his previous approval of the settlement. Kobach argued that the settlement is no longer valid due to the new state law.
The new Kansas law defines male and female based on an individual’s assigned sex at birth, determined by their “biological reproductive system.” These definitions are now applied to all state laws and regulations. The law was enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature despite Governor Kelly’s veto. However, the Governor announced that birth certificate changes would continue even after the law took effect, citing legal opinions from her administration. In the lawsuit regarding driver’s licenses, a district judge has temporarily blocked changes until at least November 1. The new Kansas law is part of a larger wave of measures passed by Republican-controlled statehouses across the country this year, aimed at rolling back transgender rights.
(Read more stories about transgender rights.)
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