Kansas Judge Rules in Favor of State’s Conservative Attorney General, Upholds Ban on Sex Changes on IDs and Driver’s Licenses
In a significant victory for conservatives, a Kansas judge has ruled in favor of the state’s conservative attorney general and determined that prohibiting sex changes on state IDs and driver’s licenses does not violate the rights of individuals who identify as transgender. District Judge Teresa Watson, in a memorandum, upheld an existing ruling made in July 2023 that prohibits the Department of Revenue from allowing transgender individuals to change their biological sex on ID cards.
The legal battle began in 2023 when Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach sued Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly after the legislature passed a law suspending sex changes on ID cards. Gov. Kelly vetoed the bill, sparking the lawsuit. The court then issued a temporary restraining order.
“This decision is a victory for the rule of law and common sense,” Kobach stated. “The Legislature wisely stated that state agencies should record biological sex at birth, and today the court held that the meaning of the law is clear.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was permitted to represent transgender individuals in the case and argued that the law would violate the state’s constitution, which the Supreme Court ruled in 2019 grants a right to bodily autonomy. However, Judge Watson disagreed, stating that information recorded on a driver’s license does not interfere with transgender persons’ ability to control their own bodies or assert bodily integrity or self-determination.
“It does not prevent them from ‘making their own decisions regarding their bodies, their health, their family formation, and their family life,'” Watson wrote in her memorandum.
Watson further emphasized that applying the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion access to the no-change policy on state-issued IDs would be “an unreasonable stretch.” She noted that the SCOTUS ruling did not grant Kansans a fundamental state constitutional right to control what information is displayed on a driver’s license.
Kansas and Florida are currently the only two states that prevent sex changes on state-issued ID cards. The ACLU expressed disappointment with the ruling, stating that it would lead to transgender individuals experiencing harassment, denial of services, or worse.
“We remain unconvinced that the imaginary injury to the state could ever outweigh the enormous harm our clients and other transgender Kansans have and will continue to experience by being forced to carry,” said D.C. Hiegert, ACLU’s LGBTQ+ legal fellow.
This ruling is a significant win for conservatives who believe that biological sex should be accurately represented on official identification documents. It upholds the principle that state agencies should record an individual’s biological sex at birth, reflecting the scientific reality of sex and promoting clarity and consistency in identification processes. Critics argue that this decision may lead to transgender individuals facing challenges and discrimination, but supporters argue that it aligns with the intent of the legislation and protects the integrity of official documents.
