Transgender people in Kansas have been placed in a tight spot by a controversial new law.
Republican state legislators passed a law invalidating driver’s licenses and birth certificates that had been changed to reflect a preferred gender in February. The law, currently facing a lawsuit from trans Kansans represented by the ACLU, invalidated nearly 2,000 licenses in the state and made it illegal for transgender individuals to use restrooms aligned with their gender identity on government property. ACLU attorney Harper Seldin told Salon that the law left transgender Kansans with “no good options.”
“This law is putting people in an impossible position,” he said.
The plaintiffs requested a temporary restraining order to bar the law from taking effect while challenges make their way through the courts. That request was denied by Douglas County District Judge James McCabria last week. In his six-page ruling, McCabria said the plaintiffs had failed to provided evidence of harm should the law take effect.
“The conclusion became self-evident — this Court simply does not have the information the law requires to enter a Temporary Restraining Order at this stage of the proceedings,” McCabria wrote.
Seldin said he was “disappointed” by McCabria’s decision, but noted that the decision was “very preliminary.”
“The court could rule differently with more facts and more time to review the law,” Seldin said.
NBC reported that some transgender Kansans are planning on leaving the state because of the new laws, while others are remaining and doing their best to comply with the uncertainties of implementation. Under the law, individuals can face up to $1,000 in fines for using the wrong restroom, be sued, and face the risk of a Class B misdemeanor. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach agreed to not enforce penalties under the law until March 26, saying the plaintiff’s case has “unusual constitutional claims.”
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Seldin worried the law makes transgender Kansans into “second-class citizens” without the same rights to privacy as other residents, thanks to the need to “out themselves” at places like the DMV, banks, and voting centers.
“We think that is going to expose people to discrimination, harm, and harassment,” Seldin said. “Even if it doesn’t, it violates your rights to privacy and autonomy.”
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