Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is battling to prevent transgender individuals from joining his lawsuit against altering sex designations on state driver's licenses. This legal maneuver effectively halts further changes until at least November. Kobach, along with legal representatives from his office and the Kansas Department of Revenue, recently appeared in court to establish a timeline for the case. The Department of Revenue's motor vehicles division, responsible for issuing driver's licenses, has modified the sex listed for over 900 individuals in the past four years.
Kobach asserts that these changes contradict a recently enacted Kansas law reversing transgender rights. He initiated legal action against two high-ranking Department of Revenue officials after Governor Laura Kelly declared that the modifications would persist despite the new legislation. Five transgender Kansans, represented by the ACLU of Kansas, have requested to intervene in the lawsuit, a motion Kobach opposes. Judge Teresa Watson will decide on this request following a hearing scheduled for August 16th. Judge Watson has already temporarily blocked further driver's license changes at Kobach's request, an order expected to remain in effect until at least November 1st.
Kobach has expressed his view that the case is straightforward, emphasizing the clarity of the statute. His interpretation of the law differs from that of the Department of Revenue. This legal battle places Kansas among a limited number of states, including Montana, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, that currently do not permit transgender residents to change their driver's licenses. Kobach is also involved in a separate federal lawsuit seeking to prevent similar changes to birth certificates.
The new Kansas law defines sex based on assignment at birth and mandates that this definition applies to all state laws and regulations, effectively ending legal recognition of transgender individuals' gender identities. Kobach argues that this necessitates reversing previous changes made to state records. The ACLU contends that this law infringes upon transgender individuals' constitutional rights, including privacy and bodily autonomy. They highlight the practical difficulties faced by transgender Kansans who hold driver's licenses that do not align with their gender identity, citing issues with airport security, traffic stops, and even credit card usage. They also emphasize the safety risks associated with being publicly identified as transgender.
Kobach maintains that legal challenges to the law are premature until a ruling is made on whether the driver's license changes violate the new statute. He believes that interpreting the law should be the primary focus. The Department of Revenue, however, argues that the new law clashes with existing legislation specifically pertaining to driver's licenses, and that they are obligated to adhere to the latter. The department supports the transgender individuals' motion to intervene in the case.
