The Kansas Legislature passed a sweeping anti-trans bill that restricts the public restrooms and locker rooms transgender people can use.
The bill would require driver’s licenses and birth certificates to reflect the sex assigned to a person at birth, and Kansas law defines “sex” as biological sex, determined at birth, including chromosomes, hormones, gonads, and internal and external reproductive organs.
Under the bill, Kansans would be prohibited from amending the gender marker on their original birth certificate and their driver’s license would only display a gender marker that matches the gender they were assigned at birth, the Topeka-based CBS affiliate reported. Wibwi.
The bill also directs state agencies to invalidate driver’s licenses that do not bear a gender marker that matches the person’s sex at birth, and to reissue licenses with the “correct” gender marker.
Last year, the Kansas Court of Appeals struck down A nearly similar law enacted in 2023 requires driver’s licenses to reflect the gender assigned at birth.
While the original House bill was being debated, Republicans reportedly used a procedural maneuver known as a “gut-and-go,” or incorporating content from the House bill into an already approved Senate bill, to place restrictions on the bathrooms, locker rooms, and locker rooms that transgender people could use in public buildings. kansas reflector.
Under the bathroom ban, Kansan people would only be allowed access to facilities that match the gender they were assigned at birth. This measure does not prevent public buildings from providing gender-neutral single-occupancy or family toilets.
Democrats objected to the procedural maneuvering used to add the bathroom ban, citing that process as justification for opposing the bill, especially after the Senate was told it would not hold hearings on the amendment before voting on the language added by the House.
Proponents argue that public records are intended to record a person’s biological sex, and the state has an interest in ensuring those records include the “correct” gender marker. They also justify toilet restrictions as necessary to protect the privacy of women and girls in public multi-occupancy toilets.
“[Cisgender females] We deserve an environment that respects those boundaries and doesn’t force us to negotiate privacy when it’s not necessary,” said state Rep. Megan Steele (R-Manhattan).
Opponents say the bill is discriminatory, treating only transgender people and refusing to recognize their identity as valid.
“Transkansans are not a threat to anyone,” said Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen (D-Topeka), according to WIBW. “There are many people in Kansas who are emboldened by this type of bill and other types of bills that harass transgender people.”
The bill passed the Republican-controlled House by a vote of 87-36 and the Republican-controlled Senate by a vote of 30-9 after six hours of deliberation.
The bill is now before Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. It remains unclear whether Kelly, who has vetoed anti-transgender bills in past years, will veto the bill or allow it to pass without her signature, given that lawmakers may have enough votes to override a veto.
LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD condemned the bill’s passage, noting that it includes criminal penalties for governments, school districts, and public universities that do not enforce the bathroom ban, as well as for individuals who violate the ban by using gender-affirming restrooms.
“Transgender people, like all of us, have the right to the dignity to be themselves and live their lives safely and without harassment,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD. “Elected officials need to start listening to the people and stop playing dangerous games with their lives.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
