Court Upholds Rule Barring Gender Identity On Kansas Drivers Licenses

[Jessica_Rose]

Court Upholds Rule Barring Gender Identity On Kansas Drivers Licenses

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/court-upholds-rule-barring-gender-identity-on-kansas-drivers-licenses/ar-BB1jLUGu

Story by Megan Turner (12 March 2024)

A judge ruled Monday that barring Kansas drivers from identifying as transgender on their licenses did not violate their constitutional rights.

Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly in July 2023 after the governor's office said that the state would continue to issue driver's licenses reflecting a person's gender identity despite the Kansas Legislature passing a bill requiring only biological sex on government IDs, according to the Kansas Reflector.

Judge Teresa Watson upheld her previous ruling from last year barring the Kansas Department of Revenue from adding options other than a person's biological sex to driver's licenses and further stated that the law did not violate transgender individuals' rights under the state constitution, according to court documents.

"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," Watson wrote in her opinion.

Pedro Irigonegaray, the attorney representing the Kelly administration, argued, however, that the ruling would allow for the harassment of Kansans who identify as transgender, according to The Associated Press.

"What possible reason can we articulate to deny our transgender population peace of mind?" Irigonegaray said. "Why this vindictive attitude towards this class of individuals?"