US state sends letter to trans drivers demanding they immediately turn in their licenses under new law
Topics: Kansas, US News, Politics, Transgender
Stefania Sarrubba
Featured Image Credit: (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Topics: Kansas, US News, Politics, Transgender
Transgender people living in Kansas have been ordered to turn in their driver's licenses if they do not reflect their assigned sex at birth, under a new law overridden by a Republican supermajority.
In a law affecting more than 1,000 people, the Kansas government has invalidated driver's licenses and birth certificates of trans residents who have changed their gender on their documents and also bans residents from changing their gender on those documents in the future.
Those affected will need to pay to get a new driver's licence with their gender identification as the sex they were assigned at birth (via Reuters).
Kansas residents were informed that the House Substitute for Senate Bill 244 would take effect on 26 February in a letter.
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According to the letter, there isn't a grace period to update the documents, meaning that whoever drives a vehicle with the license indicating a different gender than the sex they were assigned at birth might incur in penalties.
“Please note that the Legislature did not include a grace period for updating credentials,” the letter reads (via Erin in the Morning). “That means that once the law is officially enacted, your current credentials will be invalid immediately, and you may be subject to additional penalties if you are operating a vehicle without a valid credential.”
Driving without a valid license is a class B misdemeanor, with offenders facing up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. The bill adds to Kansas' strict anti-trans laws, including a bill passed in 2023 that requires county jails to separate inmates according to the sex they were assigned at birth.
Vetoed by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, the new bill was overridden by a Republican supermajority in the state legislature. Under the new law, trans people are also required to use bathrooms and locker rooms in buildings owned or leased by government entities that match their sex assigned at birth.
The newly passed bill allows private citizens to take legal action against someone if they suspect they're not using the bathroom that matches their assigned sex at birth.
If successful, someone who files a complaint against a trans individual in a public bathroom could stand to gain $1,000.
Anyone found to have used a bathroom not in accordance with their assigned sex at birth will be given a written warning on their first offense. On their second offense, they will receive a $1,000 fine, and a $ 1,000 fine and a six-month prison sentence upon their third offense.