Approximately 1,700 Kansans who claim to be another sex than they actually are have had their driver’s licenses revoked after a state law banning ID changes based on “gender identity” went into effect last month.
“Kansas is one of five states to prohibit trans people from changing the gender marker on their licenses, but it is the first to pass a law that retroactively cancels licenses that were already changed,” NBC News reported. “The law also invalidated birth certificates for those who updated their gender markers.”
Hundreds of people who claim to be transgender have already received letters from the state telling them their driver’s licenses are “invalid immediately,” according to the report. The letters also inform them they “may be subject to additional penalties” if they continue to drive unless they receive a new one with their birth sex from the Kansas Division of Vehicles and surrender the old license.
Jaelyn Abegg, a 41-year-old man who identifies as a woman and lives in Wichita told the outlet he is “pretty heartbroken” after receiving the letter. He said he plans to move out of state this month and has no plans to turn his license in that identifies him as a woman.
“It is a continuation of the message that the Legislature has been sending out for years now, and that is that transgender people are not welcome in Kansas,” he said.
In February, Kansas lawmakers passed a “bathroom bill” that requires government buildings, which includes public schools and universities, to separate bathrooms and locker rooms by biological sex. The law also bars Kansas residents from changing the sex marker on their state-issued driver’s licenses and birth certificates.
The state’s Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the bill, but the Kansas GOP was ultimately able to override her veto, arguing the legislation is necessary to protect women.
Two anonymous transgender-identifying individuals subsequently sued the state over the law, but a district judge this week decline to block it while litigation continues, according to the report.
A spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Revenue told the Kansas Reflector the law, which went into effect immediately on Feb. 26, invalidated approximately 1,700 licenses. During the court hearing on Friday, state Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) said the department had sent 275 letter so far and 138 individuals had received new licenses.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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